The eternal ties that bind
by Peco1321
Summary: Legue of Legends Fanfic set in an A.U. hundreds of years in the future created as part of a challenge with friends and as my homage to the Steel Legion skin, rated M because I'm not sure what it will contain in the end, but it may get M, all critics welcome, with the exception of the tipical "I don't ship Garen Kat", I'm not interested in those
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

"The unseen enemy is always the most fearsome"

_George R.R. Martin, a Clash of Kings_

Long ago, there was a single race of humans, who achieved interstellar flight, leaving their ancient homeworld they traveled the stars and settle in many worlds, lush and thriving colonies were found, as new technology was reveal to them, powerful and unstoppable they continued their advance throughout the galaxy, unchallenged, but sometimes the enemy is not outside, but within and is always not seen until is too late.

Back home, in their planet of origin debates ensued splitting the populations and government in 2 factions who did stopped at nothing to voice their creeds, one faction voiced for the betterment of the species via genetics and to expand a person lifespan through cloning, while the other, most conservative side argued this was a vow for power and claimed that the purity of them as human beings will be lost over time, they vowed for a more conservative creed, saying the road to the perfection of human race could only be achieved by a disciplined, righteous and perseverant path.

Over time, both factions gained power among the government bodies and slowly, yet surely the government divided, in the streets both factions supporters caused chaos whenever they found each other, creating civil unrest, faction officials always blamed the other side, not interested in finding out what happened in the first place, thus allowing the mutual hatred to grow and expand even to the colonies, eventually the schism was so deep and wide that it all ended as it was expected…

War.

Hundreds of years have passed, and what was left of that civilization splitted in two, following each faction creed, the colonies, the homeworld everything was lost and billions died in the war, in the aftermath, both groups of survivors erased as much knowledge as they could of their common origins and feed the hatred towards the other faction, perpetuating the conflict, separating each other even further, in the end, each faction settled in a planet, founding two new colonies, Demacia and Noxus.

Noxus, loyal to the creeds of their origins began genetical experiments to make better versions of humanity, trying to increase every aspect of the human being, sometimes, the failures resulted in abominations, abominations normally cleaned right after, normally, not always. However, when they succeded in creating a strain of genetic that will give birth to a gifted child, such strain was stored away in what was be called "The Gutter" inside Noxus High Command, this secluded lab was the hub for creation of new Noxians and storage of successful strains, here as well is where, when a Noxian reaching old age or is near losing its utility to Noxus, will be given time to instruct his new self, a new clone. Said clone is then infused with the memories of the old Noxian and mades them his or her own, then the dying Noxian is killed and his or her body disposed of in any way that could serve his or her starnation, one last time…

On the other side of the galaxy, the opposite faction, the founders of Demacia strive everyday for self improvement through training, discipline and an almost ritualistic way of life, were failures are not tolerated and those who can't adapt or endure are cast away as "Not fitting", throw into the void of space to live as exiles, Demacia prides itself in a paragonian almost facist way of life, where you are your best or you are nothing, through this harsh yet effective discipline, Demacians has been able to succeed, standing toe to toe with their ancient rivals, Demacians are, in a phrase "the pinnacle of human achievement" or so they like to believe, their almost zealotry religious dogma is contained in their basic book "The Measured Tread" a book written in ancient times, ableit the author has been lost to the ages, it basically speaks of the creed they should follow, marking the values that makes a Demacian.

Ancient hatreds continue, and both planets seek each other for combat, skirmishes abound, but none has decided to engage in open war yet, but even here, in the most unlikely of places, there are thing that may not go as planned…


	2. Chapter 1: Stare into the abyss

"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you."

_ Friedich Nietzche_

**The Measured Tread.**

The Measured Tread is the primordial stone of the Demacian culture, it was no surprise that, in order to boost the morale of the troops and their objectives their flagship will be called like this, the most powerful spaceship of the Demacian Navy, armored enough to resist the attacks of an entire Noxian fleet, almost impossible to board, so big that it shadow over a planet was a sight to fear and the sight of his hull a boost for the morale of the Demacian troops, written in golden all along the outer and inner hulls, the words of the Measured Tread adorned the ship, creating an hostile environment for all those non"demacian who dared to board this flying fortress, its accounts tell of countless successful ramming attacks into Noxian ships, either tearing them apart of opening the way for the troops inside for boarding, and just as imposing and mighty this ship was, so was its commanding officer, General Garen Crownguard.

Sat on his command seat in the back of the bridge, reading panels, informing himself of Noxian activities, the General contemplated, learned and meditated secluded on his own thoughts, Garen was the paragon of Demacia, no other warrior was so mighty, no other warrior had killed so many Noxians, the pride of his ancestors, the prestigious Crownguard, the second most important family in Demacia's territories and colonies, and no other had to carry the burdens of Demacia like him, more now than ever, for in his shoulders the burden of the Throne started to weight.

"Sir!" a crisp voice followed by a military salute pulled Garen of his thoughts, turning his gaze, he raised and saluted back, equally as sharp as his subordinate "Go ahead Commander" Garen replied, straightening his ironed blue military uniform, his chest full of medals and battle ribbons "This just came in sir, is a message from home" Garen took the holopad offered to him by the Commander, reading the message quickly, although he already knew what was in it "King Jarvan IV health is worsening..." He said after reading – We are been ordered back home as soon as we can "

Garen turned around after giving the holopad back, he knew what this meant, he put his hands on the rail, looking at the screen in front of the bridge, which now showed the dark and vast space "So then I presume I will be calling you my liege instead of sir very soon, General" the Demacian General tightened his grip on the rail near his seat, he knew his subordinate was right, King Jarvan was dying, ever since that battle Jarvan had with Jericho Swain, High Emperor of Noxus, he was grievously maimed and wounded, no longer able to serve, or even survive on his own, he was attached to a machine, still alive he ordered his subjects to do so, to reign and serve his nation until his last breath, nothing less was expected from the King

Garen was next in line to succeed Jarvan, they were not blood related, childhood friends, friends for life but not relatives, the closest they went to this was, when Garen's sister Luxanna was to marry Jarvan, the images flooded Garen's mind, the ceremony of engagement, how happy his sister was, how happy Jarvan was, and then, all turned red, images change from the marble halls of Demacia to the hellish high tech battlefield, flashes of light from their melee weapons, clashing against the weapons of the Noxian monsters, Garen fighting tooth and nail, slicing and electrifying Noxians with his energy charged sword, his mighty power armor stained with blood from his enemies as he calls for his friend, lost from sight, until he founds him, fighting in a crater created by his Sonic Lance vibrations, separating Jarvan and Swaim from everybody, the fight was tense, Jarvan's lance flying in elegant motions, trying to pierce Swain's armor, while the known as the Master Tactician parried most of the blows with the shields of his armor, until taking advantage of a miss from Jarvan a blast comes out from Swain gauntlet, a blinding light forbids him to see, but when the smoke clears, the only one remaining standing is Swain, tired, but victorious, Jarvan's wretched, yet alive body lies on the floor, his lower half missing, flesh seared, unable to move…

Almost unable to live…

"Sir?" Garen came back abruptly from the awaken dreaming state, looking at his Commander "Are you ok Sir?" he inquired, seen Garen expression, "Yes, I am, Roche set course for… " Alarms blared as he spoke, his soldier mind cut in, calling him to action "Sensors, report!" Garen called with urgency, turning to the corresponding men working on the console" Contacts!, IFF (Identify Friend of Foe) confirms, Noxian battlecruisers! "Garen turned from the bridge and walked towards the lift leading to the armory" Commander, you have the bridge, all hands to battle station, inform the fleet we are engaging" that said he walked in the lift while unlatching the buttons on his blue uniform, revealing the muscle tight black inner suit below, the last layer of armour any Demacian used, its connection to the power armour that made Demacian soldiers living battletanks.

He was a soldier, to the bone, a warrior from hearth, he knew that, becoming the King will change many things, especially now that, Jarvan was about to die without a heir, he didn't want the throne, he didn't felt worthy of it, his place was the battlefield, not the throne room "If this are going to be my last battles, then I'll make them echo in history, I'm a soldier, not a king, but I shall serve Demacia, no matter what's the charge, but for one last time, I'll thrive where I was born to be, one last time" .

* * *

**The Legend**

The vast and dark space opened before her, through the double density reinforced crystal of the space station the look was somehow depressing, after 950 years, the existence tends to be like this very often, even when you are the epitome of Noxian combat efficiency, even when you are the best assassin the Noxian has to offer, when all you have on your heart is violence, when violence solves everything, when you wish nothing more than blood for Noxus, and yet, your hearth, deep below hopes. Katarina DuCoteau was one of the first successful genetic strains stored by the Noxians, her original genetics proved incredibly powerful, and with some tweaks over the years it made her what she was, in a word:

Perfect.

The curvy woman stared at the starts, trying to find something or if like trying to find something, Katarina existence has long been overdue, she was one of the few beings alive in the galaxy who still remembered the homeworld, technically she was there, even though her current body wasn't, her memories told her of the land, the grass, the wind, the lush world they all lost, and what she lost with it more than the planet itself, what made her be like she was now, what made her do what she had done for this past 900 something years, what she has been carefully setting in motion.

For a moment, her reflection showed on the crystal, red long hair on her back, green emerald eyes, the curves of a goddess, the gaze of an assassin, her black gloved hand reached for her right eye, touching the scar, unlike her first incarnation, this scar was not made in battle, she made it herself, or better said, her former self did, the clone before her, just as the one before her did and so on, as a reminder of something long gone, of something only she could remember, or maybe only she cared to remember.

"Watching the stars?, perharps you wonder if your kill count already surpassed the number of stars you see" a raspy voice sounded from behind, joined by the sound of a cane hitting the ground as the man walked in, the curious and quite unusual sound of the crow in his shoulder made it easily to guess who it was

"High Emperor Swain" she replied, turning around, a hand on her chest and bow to salute, something she hated with her heart, but, considering he was the most powerful person in Noxus, for now, it was a needed precaution "To why do I owe this unexpected… visit?" the words she looked for was unpleasant intromission, and her voice barely did hid the fact of her hate towards the man, but she knew better, as Swain did too, even though he was aware of her hate, she was too valuable, Katarina Ducoteau was not only the best Noxian assassin, spy and black ops member, but a symbol and a legend as well, almost a demi"goddess, one doesn't kill his best lightly it takes careful planning, and so, as rival and allies they were, they stood silently for a moment, throwing gazes, red eyes against green eyes.

"I came to check on the progress, this space station must be finished as soon as possible" he finally broke the silent, walking towards the window "Demacia is weak, and this, our ultimate weapon of mass destruction, will be their doom" Swain spoke truth, the immense under construction battle station was a planet killer weapon, it had took them more than 100 years to even reach this place, and casually, the almost near completion phase came at a time when Demacia's ruler is on his dying days, there was not a better chance now, Noxus will prove his superiority soon.

"I'm pleased with your work Katarina, it was a wise choice to put you in charge of the station construction and security on its final stage" the man feed his bird something that came out of his pocket, whatever it was, even Katarina couldn't see, Swain had a way of concealing things, just like his machinations, always assisted by the Empress, Emilia LeBlanc "However it will be unfortunate if the Demacian find us now, won't be?" He says turning around to leave "This has been an easy job for you, I think you are bored without a challenge aren't you?"

Katarina simply shrugged, even though Swain was right, the thrill of a kill, the adrenaline of violence, the things that keep her alive were missing from her life for some time now, but she wouldn't allow Swain to know it "Perharps that won't remain that way" Swain concluded, a slight laugh escaped his covered mouth, under the dark mask a twisted smile appeared.

Katarina was confused, but suddenly alarms blared on the station, the red headed woman looked at Swain not knowing what to think, she ran towards the console nearby, punching the intercom button "Report!" she yelled on the communication device "A Demacian fleet approaches in battle formation, scouting ships spotted them while passing nearby, they are about to engage"

Katarina cursed and turned to Swain, who already left the room, what this one of his machinations? No, how could it be, but it was too well timed, not even he could, why would he?, this was his masterpiece, this station, why risk it? Not he couldn't, this was simply a twist of fate or so she though, it didn't matter anyway, as usual, she was going to kill every Demacian on those ships and come back, to keep her legend living.

"Prepare my ship, send the order to engage"

* * *

**Clash of Fates **

The battle raged, Noxian battlecruisers and destroyers engaged the Demacian navy, the long rage battle was a mere protocol on both sides, they hatred was too great that long range weapon were merely a means to thin the enemy forces while approaching for the real combat, each side could only be satisfied by killing their opponents up close, there was no other way.

Another Noxian ship exploded as the Measured Tread emerged from the flames, crushing a smaller frigate with the front of the ship, specially made to ram deep even in the crust of a planet, the Demacian forces rallied and approached with intentions on boarding the Noxian ships, explosions lighted the space as heavy rail munitions travelled to hit marked spots for boarding actions.

Back on the frontal hangar, Garen rallied his soldiers, men and women of Demacia donning their mighty power armors, they were titanium and steel giants, highly trained men and women inside armors that made them even more fearsome, man and machine in union to crush their enemies.

"Soldiers of Demacia!" the General cried "Once again we find our enemies, you all know we are in dark times, the Noxians foretell our downfall!" the soldiers looked at their commander, as his words passed all over the fleet "But they are just bluffing!, they don't know what it takes to bring us down, let us show them that their lies, supposed perfection and propaganda are not a match for the true strength of Demacia!" that said, battle cries more like a roar erupted from the soldiers as Garen raised his mighty sword.

As the battle continued, a new group of Noxian battleships entered the fray, Katarina's ship among them, as if it was a challenge, the Measured Tread routed its brow against it, it was almost a matter of honor, command ships always looked for and faced each other in battle, to destroy the enemy command ship was a decisive strike in a battle, striking hard the morale of the losing side.

"Mistress, we have spotted the Measured Tread among the enemy formation, they are closing in on us!" the Noxian officer advised to Katarina, who was now wearing her combat suit, a black tight suit with red stripes running from the shoulders to the wrist, slightly armored, only a pauldron on each shoulder, a light chestpiece which had attached the systems that fed her HUD (Heads UP display) and small oxygen tanks on the back, long black boots up to the tight with armored shins and knees completed the suit, daggers adorned her tights, 2 swords hang from her back and two others from her hips, and she had more weapons hidden, in places one may not imagine "Let them approach!" she yelled, almost unable to contain her excitement, but it was more than the mere violence what thrilled her "Let them board us, we will meet them with force and cunning, cruelty and death!" she felt her heart beat faster and faster, for she knew who commanded that ship, finally what she expected was happening "Go! Meet them head on!"

As she said this, she ran back to the lift, both ships approached as a pair of bulls charging with all their muscles, the battle seemed to go slower when they approached, almost as if time was about to stop, the brows of the ships meet each other with a loud hit, silenced by the vacuum of space, the helmsman of the Measured Tread pressed forward, the ramming front pierced the Noxian cruiser defences opening a hole in the enemy ship, sucking out the personnel on the area, once the area was depressurized, the vacuum shield activated, creating a pressurized environment for the soldiers to board, the doors of the Measured Tread opened and the Demacians charged in, helmets don and weapons on the ready, the few Noxians that mustered a defense after the impact prepared and rushed out to meet their enemies, but they were on the losing end, the first wave of Demacians slaughtered countless Noxians before reaching the bulwark, Garen at the lead fought with all his courage, shouting the name of his nation as he charged deeper in the enemy ranks, slicing everything in his path, until no Noxian was left.

"Prepare to move out! Set a garrison and press on" he ordered as the men chanted victory on their first battle today, Garen turned and was ready to move, but a flying dagger stopped him, fast enough as he was, he deflected the weapon with his sword, immediately turning to see the attacker, what he found, left him breathless for a second.

The soldiers around stared in awe at the Noxians, but not at the forces reinforcing the position, but to the female leading them, a legend in both sides, a woman that, everybody says can't be killed, a woman who was always existed in Noxus, a woman to be feared, whispers saying "it's her" filled the Demacians ranks, only Garen took a step forward, sword ready.

"Finally" her crimson lips said, confusing Garen a bit "Finally? I don't remember meeting you before, Sinister blade of Noxus" he replied, the female just smiled, this meant more than what Garen could imagine right now "Should I be honoured then?" he responded, unable to hide the sarcasm

" You don't know what is just about to start, but trust me, you are in for the dance of your life Garen Crownguard, come, would you stare into the abyss with me?!"

Those words said, both combatants launched forwards and set in motion events that will change the fate of both nations…


	3. Chapter 2: First Date

"In a man"to"man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine."

_ Erwin Rommel_

**First date**

The battle intensified outside, ships rammed each other looking to destroy the enemy, causing casualties on both sides, no one was going to back down, close quarters fight began on multiple ships, but, none as fierce as the typhoon about to set loose inside the Noxians command ship.

Garen stood tall after the first impact, a clash of blades that only lasted for a second as she parried and moved away, looking at his opponent, the legend of Noxus, she who he had read so much about that even ranged on obsession, he never faced her in battle, but knew all her tricks, he knew everything Demacia knew about her, she was the best on the other side, so as he was on Demacia, it was natural for him that eventually he will fought this Noxian legend, yet, there was something awfully strange in this first encounter, her strange smile that hinted there was something amiss for him, her greeting, her eyes said something else than the mere excitement she showed from the first moment, maybe there was something he wasn't really understanding, maybe it was all part of her strategy, maybe it was this all a deceit.

"What's the matter soldier? am I too scary? Don't disappoint me so soon" she taunted, her emerald eyes menacing, the Demacian didn't even flinch at her taunt, he assumed combat position and prepared "That is more like you" and her smiled widened, again Garen though she was acting in quite the strange way, but shrugged the thought and charged with his battlecry, his swing landed on solid ground as she moved away and retaliated, she was fast, like a shadow, disappearing from his eyes and appearing at his back, her blade landed square on his gauntlet as he turned to strike a punch on Katarina's lovely face, the woman raised her blades, forming a cross to protect herself, saving her face from the punch, that nonetheless send her flying backward, after a flip she landed crouching "Yes!" She exclaimed her excitement increasing "Keep up! Come on soldier, I'm just warming up!" and as soon as she said that, she again moved, sidestepping from one side to the other at incredible speeds, as if she was blinking in and outside of reality, Garen tried to calculate where she will appear, but it was almost impossible, by the time he realized where she was, he got a blade in the side, slicing his armor, he turned to counterattack, but missed, then from the other side he felt a hit " How could she be so fast? "Garen though, recovering from both strikes, on his left side, he could felt blood coming out of his wound "Are your hurt? I smell blood" she said licking her finger "Is that all you can do? Its barely a scratch" The Demacian General replied, adopting his combat position again, sword in front, his face was stern, as if she didn't have done any damage, Garen wasn't as fast as her, but he was way more resilient, for a soldier like him, pain mean nothing, wounds were just scratches and fatal wounds not an excuse to stop fighting.

Katarina laughed, but not a maniacal laughter like the one Garen was told she normally does when in battle, it was a soft laugh, almost a giggle, which sounded melodical to him, familiar, something stirred on his memory, but he shacked the though quickly, albeit, his face of confusion made Katarina shown a similar expression, both seemed puzzled, but the sound of battle around made them come back to reality "What's the matter sinister blade, tired already?" he taunted, Garen was about to play gamble, a very dangerous one.

Katarina smirked and launched forward, Garen prepared, following her blinks, exposing his wounded side to her, albeit just slightly, a bait, an opportunity Katarina didn't want to let slip, she feinted for the other side and attacked the wounded one, her blade landing right on the wound again, making it deeper, Garen felt the wound, blood poured now freely from the sliced armor "Hmmp… maybe you were not what I thought" she said, but instead of her voice sounding triumphant it sounded sad, her eyes looked at the bleeding Demacian with what looked like regret, Garen was puzzled, Katarina raised her second blade, ready to kill "Why am I tortured this much?" she whispered, the Demacian wasn't sure if he heard well, but apparently that was what she said, it was almost as if a tear was about to roll down her face, Garen snapped out of this confusion caused by the scene and acted, as her blade came down, his blade opened and catch hers, closing a second later, breaking Katarina's blade, then with a mighty cry Garen headbutted Katarina, forcing her back, on purpose Garen stuck her blade on his wound, Katarina was trapped, she tried to let go the grip of the blade, but it was too late and the blood coming from her forehead, the dizziness from his sudden attack made her slow, sloppy, she felt his almost gigantic hand grabbing her head, face covered she felt the pressure of the gauntlet as he raised her and slammed the woman against the floor, she felt her bones shatter as a spasm of pain runs through all of her body, releasing his grip, Garen took his sword with both hands raising it above his head, sharp end down and prepared to finish her, but…

* * *

**Memories**

Sun bathes the hill in front, a rapid sunrise begins to illuminate the landscape, as the grass dances on the wind, voices are heard, two persons talking, their voices are like whispers, there is a tree nearby, the two persons are there, apparently happy, a man and a woman, he has his arms around her as she rest on his chest, both sitting, her back leaning on him, he kissed her hair, there is no way to tell who they are, she suddenly raises and starts walking away, throwing a kiss, and then runs, the man raises and extends his hand, as if not wanting her to go, now he sees from the man perspective, he sees his own hand wanting to stop the female from leaving, the wind blows stronger, he feels powerless for some reason, the grass now dances faster and faster, the sun intensifies, everything seems to start going into a hyper state of movement, he feels as if he was running after her, everything moves, everything change, now darkness, he only sees the trail of her long hair, he chases, but then nothing, everything fade…

Garen comes out of his trance, below him, he sees Katarina in the floor, her eyes closed as if she was ready to be killed, how long has passed?, just a split second, but that is enough for her to realized he doubted, she opens her eyes and sees in his blues and all of a sudden she rolls away as his sword comes down and strikes the ground, realizing the energy it was storing in a mighty vertical beam of light

She raises, touching her forehead, blood comes out profusely, her left arm felt numb, her ankle injured as well, a few ribs also broken, but even then, she smiles as she pulls another blade from her back, her smile remains, Garen is confused, is it the bleeding that made him delusional? What was that he saw that made him stop and not finish her? Did her blade was poisoned?

"General come in!" Roche called on the communication device of his helmet "Not now Roche, I'm busy" he replied still disconcerted "This is important General, we are picking a large signature from the moon nearby, apparently Noxian, one of our cruisers disengaged and took this images" Photos of the Noxian leviathan station appeared in his HUD, he spared just a look at them, since he was more concentrated on the red head before him, but he did notice the size, and the danger it represented if that thing was active, but he was pretty sure it was not, at least not yet, they would have wiped out the Demacian Fleet by now if it was "We have Noxian reinforcements inbound, orders sir?" Garen cursed, he didn't want to stop fighting this woman, this Noxian has been the best rival he ever had, she was his opposite in all senses, he was afraid to admit it, but he was enjoying the fight, he felt the excitement, the thrill to fight her, but there was something more, something he couldn't place at the moment, but he has a duty to Demacia, and to the men under his command "Pull our forces back, sound the retreat"

He pointed his sword to Katarina as he walked backwards, never losing sight of her "All forces, fall back!" was the call on the communications, the Demacians started their orderly retreat, not giving the Noxians a chance to take advantage of it, in fact, many Noxians felt down trying, but as for Katarina, she seemed satisfied, she looked at him, even in retreat he was gallant, smart and brave, never showing his back, never pointing down his sword, he was not defeated, simply strategically retreating, as he stepped into the Measured Tread frontal hangar, Katarina retreated to the safety behind the closing bulwark, but before the doors of both ships closed, she blew a kiss to him, for the Noxians, it seemed a sarcasm and everybody laughed, for the Demacians it looked like a taunt, for Garen it added more to the already brewing confusion, but the only one who knew its true meaning was the red head behind the bulwark.

Noxian ships approached, bearing their weapons ready to fight, but the Demacian pressed on their retreat, engaging in warp flight before the Noxians could track them, their scout ships have gained precious information as their battlecruisers and the Measured Tread caused heavy casualties on the Noxian side, the initial Noxian fleet was reduced to half of their strength while the Demacian only lost around 30%, even though they had to retreat and both sides will boast about been the victors, this was in fact a draw, just as the fight between the 2 fleets commanders ended, a draw.

* * *

**Damage report: Demacia**

Garen sat in the infirmary arm connected to an artificial blood stream, his wound hastily attended by Dr. Buvelle, the blue haired woman made a worried look once the chest plate from Garen's armor was removed, revealing the makeshift healing made by his soldiers as they carried him here, the wound was way more than a scratch, even if he wasn't going to admit it "It's just a flesh wound Sona" he affirmed, the woman simply rolled her eyes and negated, as always Garen was been a tough guy.

Sona did her work, quiet, silent, as silent as you expect from a mute lady, yet she was a gifted medic and musician, Garen couldn't remember how many times the sound of music has quell the home sickness of his troopers, everybody on the ship liked her, and more than one had a crush on her "Doc, tell me something" he asked, obviously not waiting for a verbal response "Was I poisoned? Was the blade poisoned?" he inquired, Sona negated as she continued cleaning the wound "I saw something, when I was about to finish her, I saw something in my head, like a dream" Sona raised, searching for biofoam as he spoke "Could I be becoming crazy?" he inquired, Sona giggled and turned, walking towards him, she applied the biofoam on the General's side, which will be enough to seal the injury, she had very little happy moments on her job, tending wounds in the military wasn't the most gratifying job in the universe, but, seen the mighty Garen Crownguard muscles firsthand was a nice bonus.

She took her medical holopad and wrote a few words for Garen _"No, you are not crazy, probably just stressed and thinking of home, I heard about our King"_ Sona was a woman of few words, but a woman who comprehends a lot of things with ease, she then pointed with her finger to his forehead, kind of saying "_That's what you get for going around headbutting people_", which made the General smile "I promise I'll try not to next time" he said raising and donning a shirt brought by one of his subordinates "Thank you Doc" he said, leaving the room.

The men walked through the hallways, the uncovered windows of the ship revealed the lights of the warp travel they engaged in after breaking off the battle with the Noxians, heading for his quarters, he received praises from his soldiers, he only praised back, they did most of the work, he just gave the orders.

Once he got there, he removed the armor plates remaining on his legs, dressing a way less formal outfit, jump pants and the shirt with the Dauntless Vanguard logo, he got into bed, she didn't say it, but Sona wanted him to rest, and since they eluded the Noxians, he might as well take the chance and sleep

The dream returned, he saw the same things as when he was near her, but this time it was slightly clearer a detail revealed to him, the hair of the woman he was chasing was red, long red and instead of fading in black, the dream ended with a blaze devouring everything, he raised suddenly, awaken from his sleep, not sweating, not screaming, slightly altered, but in his eyes, there were doubts, questions he needed to answer…

"Sir, we made it home" the intercoms called, Garen raised and opened the cover of his quarters window, marvelling on the view before him, the blue giant planet, Demacia.

His questions indeed needed answer, but he knew he won't find them back home, only one person could answer them…

**Damage Report: Noxus**

Katarina looked in the mirror, blood came out of her mouth, she touched the blood it was warm, she smiled it has been a while since somebody managed such a feat, making her bleed, the excitement of battle still on her, she undressed, looking her perfect body at the mirror, purplish hematomas dotted her chest and back, her forehead also got one, Garen's headbutt" He is strong, like he should be, resilient, powerful" she smiled again, even if the pain was causing her to ache, she seemed incredibly happy for some reason

The pain started to diminish eventually, Noxian equipped their genetics with fast healing cells when they are conscripted into military service, making them able to regenerate damage over time, if it was not lethal or severe, they couldn't regenerate limbs on their own, they needed the Gutter for that and all old wounds remain, the cells can't regenerate scars.

She got into the shower, wounds in the process of closing, she washed away the blood, her body thanked the touch of cold water helping her to cool down as well, it had been too much excitement for a day. Right after she felt clean enough, she left the shower and walked towards the window covered only by a towel her long red hair wet falling on her back as she looked into the space "Where are you know soldier, are you thinking of me?" she muttered, turning around towards the locker holding her clothes, opening the locker with her personal genetic code she kneeled and touched the floor of the locker searching for something, her delicate hand stopped a moment when she felt what she was looking for, then pressing her thumb, the genetic code imprinted on her DNA was scanned and a secret cover moved away revealing a box, she took the it and walked to her bed, sitting she opened the box and took it contents out a blue, seemingly thorn piece of cloth, it was quite large and dotted with stains of something that at one time could have been blood, her hands toyed with the cloth for a moment, before placing it near her cheek, rubbing it with the cloth, eyes closed, and smiling, she simply whispered…

"Welcome back…"


	4. Chapter 3: Orders

"Theirs is not to reason why, theirs is to do and die"

_Alfred Tennyson_

**Message at your doorsteps**

Darkness surrounded her no trace of light not even from outside, the protective layer of metal covered the window baring all lights from coming inside that was the way she liked it, she felt safe in shadows, secure in darkness, away from harm, but so lonely…

The sounds of the intercom calling over and over interrupted the silence but she didn't attend, her body ached still even though it was in the process of full recovery, the Demacian did indeed gave her the rough treatment. The intercom went silent, apparently they finally got the message, unless she heard a red alarm she wasn't going to answer, not for the next hours at least or so she thought for a few minutes, until the sounds of somebody knocking hard on her door brought her back to reality.

Outside, the door was really getting what may be called a beating, the heavy hand of a Noxian soldier bearing a gigantic axe at his back knocked repeatedly at the door, his hand already marking slightly the metal "You can either come out, or I'll come in for you" his hard voice announced, Darius was one of the strongest soldiers if not the strongest soldier in the Noxian army, he wasn't the best, because Katarina was there and her place as legend was hard to dispute, especially considering she doubled Darius age and his experience, still that didn't stop him to treat her often, Darius was one of Swain's favorites which meant he had almost limitless power and influence "I'll bring the door down if you don't come out!" He warned, his features showing restrained anger.

Katarina inside raised from the bed, she was still naked, her hair not that much of a mess, but what really made her wake was the fact that, her precious cloth piece was still on her bed. Apparently she made a little mistake, sleeping with the precious piece of clothing, good thing she had the habit of closing her slide door with locks but if that gorilla sized hound enters and sees that...

She quickly reacted, moving towards her locker, she was more worried of the cloth been discovered than Darius seen her naked "Don't you enter here, don't you dare stupid jackass" she hated Swain's dogs, he and his brother Draven but right now she was more angry to herself for indulging in such error, not that they will recognize the piece, but if they tell Swain he surely will "If you enter I'll kill you!" she yelled, not sure if Darius heard her, but just in case she got a dagger out from her locker, ready to slice the throat of Darius if he gets in.

"Threats? I'm not impressed!" he said taking distance to charge, but the sudden appearance of a masculine figure in front of the door stopped him, from the newcomer arm, a blade extended as his eyes looked at Dariu, who instinctively got a hold of his axe handle

"Talon" he said, shooting a glare his way "Katarina's lapdog, move out of my way" Talon remained still, he basically didn't give a fuck about Darius "What do you want?" he coldly asked blade on the ready "I will speak with your mistress only, stay away" he commanded as he prepared to charge, Talon assumed combat position, the clash apparently was inevitable, but, just in time the door opened and Katarina came out dressed and armed "Enough!" she yelled, none of them were startled by the woman's command, but they didn't move "I'm still in charge of this battlestation, so you will do as I say Darius!" both men relaxed, Talon blade retracted under his cloak and Darius hand left the handle of his axe, Katarina was in full command right now, given by Swain and Darius would never dare disobey Swain, at least not while he was the strongest.

"High Emperor Swains wants to leave at once, he has summoned you, if the Emperor calls, you attend, why is that you bitch find that so hard to understand?!" He barked towards Katarina, now ignoring Talon, Katarina walked forward, placing her hand on Talon's shoulder "And you have to come and almost bring down my door just to deliver your master message?" the sarcasm on her voice was noticeable "You are a very good dog indeed, go back to your master, I will be there in a moment, now go don't forget to bark moron " and after she made a couple of dog sounds, mocking Darius, the hulky men simply turned and walked away.

"You risk too much" Talon said, his eyes stared to Katarina "If they find out, it will be your doom, my own and Casssiopeia's" Katarina walked away following the same direction Darius had a moment ago "Cass is already doomed, you don't have much to lose either, nor do I " a sigh escaped her lips as she stopped, still not turning to see her bodyguard, turning around she walked to him and closed her lips on his ear " I saw him Talon, mighty, powerful, just as he should be, I tell you, it worth this risk, finally, I made it, it's going to happen " her voice was filled with emotion, Talon remained the same, unaltered " That is your decision, not mine to make " the assassin said as he walked away " But I hope you are right "

Katarina simply dismissed the words as she made her way through the hallways of the massive battlestation on her care, it took her some time, the distance between her quarters and the main hangar was large and she didn't really pressed up her pace, making the Emperor wait give her a sort of strange pleasure.

She finally arrived, the Raedsel guard keep watch of the hangar, forming 2 lines leaving a space in between for Swain to pass, they were the most vicious soldiers of Noxus, their dark green armors inspired fear even in the most resolute, even Katarina felt unsettled in her presence feeling she quickly shrugged as she approached Swain and his…lapdogs.

To his right, obviously was Darius, his not so friendly face showing the despite he felt for Katarina, and to the left in a more "I don't give a fuck I'm wonderful" attitude, Daven stood, Katarina hated him with a passion, few things will make her more happy than to stab that stupid confident face of his, right in between those fumanchus

Katarina bowed, hand to her chest, playing politics again " I'm glad you decided to join us, although I'm not so satisfied with your timing " Swain started, dismissing Darius and Draven with a hand sign " Uhhhh little kitty, you got in problems hehehehe " Draven said turning around " You need to be more DRAVEEEEEN just like me " the man said, giving her a thumbs up, an obvious sarcasm, his brother unlike him remained silent and walked away, Katarina made a mind note making sure that, when she kills that overconfident idiot, she does it painfully.

"I have orders for you before I leave" Swain continued, eyeing the girl his deep red eyes showed nothing "You could have send a message… my liege "she interrupted, her voice full of restrained spite " It is too important " his deep red eyes flashed under his mask a smile appeared, he found joy in the hate harboured to him by Katarina " You are to move the station towards a new location a remote planet in the Ionian sector border, there you will complete the operations remaining, the Demacians may come back to this place the station can't be compromised again " Swain's voice was severe as if he was blaming the discovery of the station by the Demacians on her, in fact he was doing exactly that, Katarina knew it another excuse he was adding, another stone he was piling on her tomb.

" Failure is not an option, don't made the same mistakes as your father did " Katarina threw a glare to him, her eyes didn't hide the hate inside them, Swain simply turned around and walked towards his transport " Does he know? " She though " No… he can't, is he playing with my mind? " she was confused and surprised, fear tried to crawl up her spine but she keep it at bay, Swain boarded his transport, the Raedsel guard closely behind, once they were set Swain and his minions left the station heading for Swain's command ship Beatrice

Inside his transport, Darius huffed " You should let me behead her my liege " Swain was silent, sat on the seat fashioned as a throne for him " There is no need for that, she will kill herself soon enough "

* * *

**When home is not enough…**

The grand spaceport of Demacia opened its doors to its prodigal daughter, the Measure Tread approached in all its majesty soaring the blues skies of Demacia, back in the bridge Garen stood, he could still feel some pain by the wounds sustained during his last battle, but for a man like Garen, wounds were just perks of the job, part of a soldier life " Approaching to Demacia Spaceport, requesting authorization code Gamma"Alpha"Romeo"Epsilon"November, please advise" the communications officer called over the system, requesting the necessary permissions, the protocols on the bridge continued but Garen was not really interested on them, he grew used to them already, he understood all of them but his mind was on another place right now.

"Understood flight control, thank you very much is good to be home" The pilot turned to Garen now " We are heading to port, docking in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… engage retros" as they approached small thrusters fired, slowing the descent of the ship, until it safely reached land and docked, metallic clamps attached to the ship's hull, locking the Demancian flagship in place " Open the intercom " Garen commanded "Attention all hands, we are on shore leave for at least today, until new orders arrive enjoy yourself, welcome home, congratulations on a job well done" That said, he came down from his commanding position saluted by his subordinates as he left the bridge, Garen commanded respect everywhere he went, it wasn't only his ironed uniform, the many medals on his chest, his imposing physical appearance, nor even his deep blue eyes, he had an aura, something that told everybody around him that no matter what, he could accomplish everything.

The airlocks opened, every single crew member and soldier, walked outside, greeted by the crowd gathered at the spaceport every time the Measured Thread made port, a great crowd gathered to receive the heroes of the Dauntless Vanguard, Demacia's elite, family, friends, fans, everyone joined in their greeting, the sun shinned bright over them, just as if Demacia welcomed them.

But it wasn't that shinny for everyone, Garen came out with the wounded, making sure they will be fine and transferred to the best hospital the army could afford, which in Demacia always meant the best, the Government never went cheap on its soldiers health care, after all not many came back alive, Demacians rarely came back wounded from battle, it was death or victory, and this was not a feat, it was expected from them.

Garen hand reached for Sona's shoulder, she was making sure everything was set "Don't overextend Doc, follow your own rules rest after you finished " He said, passing beside her, receiving only a nod in response, yet, even though his wound was healing, Garen felt strange, the sun didn't seem so shiny as went he left, there was something new, Home didn't feel the same, Home didn't seem enough now "What's wrong with me… am I so impressed by a Noxian woman? " He asked himself, walking away from the crowd " Why home feel different? Why do I feel I need to see her again? Battle her again… "

"Brother!" a juvenile female voice called, Garen looked around for the source, finding it right away, a young blonde girl with a vibrant expression, dressing in the same uniform as him, albeit a little tighter, with less medals and a red beret adorning her head the young female ran to him and almost jumped in his arms, he embraced her, a smile appearing on his face "Brother I'm glad you came back safely!" she said almost yelling, Garen held her a bit in his arms, until he had to let her go, his wound ached slightly "You ok?" she asked, her eyes showing how worried she was.

"I´m fine Luxanna, don't worry, just a minor wound" he replied, trying to stay as stalwart as the wound let him "I just have a hard battle " Garen said, Luxanna smiled "With Noxus most revered legend, the sinister blade " The expression he had revealed his surprise " How did you know?" he asked, and Lux smile answered his question even though, the blonde gave him the leniency of a verbal answer pointing her finger to the emblem on the beret " Imperial Intelligence Corps remember? "

The man laughed, placing an arm over his sister shoulder he walked away from the spaceport towards the transport waiting for them " Jarvan wants to see you brother… " she said grimly, it was clear the future death of her beloved pained her, Garen couldn't avoid feeling guilty for this, the pain of his sister and imminent death of his best friend " Take me to him" he answered.

The road to the palace was even more grim than he expected, not because of the landscape, the capital city shinned bright under the sun, its golden and white buildings reflected its light, white towers adorned the limits, projecting the orbital bombardment shield, giving an even more bluish tone to the sky, but none of that worried him, none of that captured his attention his mind was now back to that battlefield, where his friend lost his life, because in the state he was now couldn't be considered living.

The aerial transport landed in the Palace courtyard, the doors opened, Garen and Lux came out and made their way to the palace, the hallways were dark barely any person save the guards could be seen, as the curtains in every room were closed, light banned from entrance, they stepped in the throne room, the golden throne was empty, just a dim light came from the ceiling, making it look mystic yet sad, they both stopped, paid their respect and continued until the room where the king laid, Lux stopped at the doors, Garen turned to wait for her but she negated with her head, understanding just by looking at her face, Garen nodded and walkedforwad the guards opened the doors and he steps in.

The room was extremely and finely decorated, paintings of the king ancestry hang in the wall, golden canvass with intricate carving adorned the paintings everything seemed regal, luxurious, even divine, except, the contraption in the end of the room, a sort of cryostasis chamber surrounded by men in blue and golden robes, the man inside, was the king of Demacia, or what was left of him. Garen walked closer, standing beside the tube, which gave the feeling of a high tech bed, below the crystal, Jarvan scarred body laid, connected to tubes, which keep him alive " He will not last long General " one of the councilman said.

Garen nodded and kneeled beside the device "I'm here my king" he said, from inside, Jarvan stirred, barely more than a living corpse, his impressive vitality was long gone, as well as his fine features and powerful muscles " Garen, my friend… you came " Jarvan voice sounded emaciated " I heard… you met a new lady, I'm sad I wasn't there, they say the sinister blade is a beauty to behold " Jarvan joked, even in a state like this, he still keep part of his old self " She is just another Noxian, sire " he replied, obviously hiding the unnerving feelings he had been having since he faced Katarina " A skilled one I must add, everything we knew of her is true, everything " Jarvan smiled, or it appeared like it " A pity you couldn't kill her, but the time will come I'm sure, for now there…" the king coughed, his respiration became agitated " is something disturbing in your reports, the information you… forwarded after the battle… Councilman Brightsword, will you be so kind to…" Jarvan had difficulties to talk, his condition worsening " Of course your majesty " The Councilman responded and pressed a few buttons on the holopad he was holding, immediately, the room went dark, barely lit by the lights of Jarvan's chamber, a hologram of a star map appeared, Garen raised as he studied the map, trying to find a reason on what they will ask of him " General Crownguard, according to your report, the Noxians are building a giant battlestation with enough weaponry and soldiers to destroy our fleets, the mere suggested size makes this station impossible to conquer through boarding, it could basically carry the whole of the Noxian army " the Councilman stated " We have just confirmed your reports with our Intelligence network " a dot, marking the station in its last known location, which was were Garen found it appeared on the map " this station can't be completed, right now its vulnerable, as it is not activate, it must be destroyed " Garen looked at the map " They should have moved by now " he replied, knowing Swain will most likely moved the station away right after the battle " Yes, they did General, fortunately we know to where they are going " another dot appeared, marking its destination on the Ionian sector " The station will be heavily guarded, you are to destroy it General " Garen nodded, his excitement grew, he will be facing the Sinister Blade again his heart beated faster " I will muster the whole fleet for this " he declared, the councilmen turned to each other before Brightsword spoke " You will only take your ship and detachment, we can't risk the whole fleet, the cost may be too high, and knowing Swain, he may be baiting us "

Garen excitement went down, it was a suicide mission, only his ship against such odds was not only impossible it was madness " My king, permission to speak freely " Garen said respectfully " Granted, my friend " Jarvan said, Garen could smell treachery in the air, if he was the next in line, what will happen if he dies?, but then again he was also the most capable soldier in the Demacian army, none of those two things were of importance to him, the lives of his men were " This is a suicide mission, no matter how powerful the Measured Tread is, that is a full Noxian fleet with thousands of soldiers, the possibilities of success are minimum " Jarvan coughed before speaking " Leaves us Councilmen " Jarvan commanded, the members of the council looked among themselves, not sure what to think of this " I said….LEAVE US! " Jarvan raised his voice, then coughed several times, the councilmen bowed and left hastily, once they were alone, he continued " My friend, I'm dying…" he said his voice getting weaker " Jarvan don't talk, save your strength you…"

"Listen…" Jarvan interrupted " When I die, I want to leave this world safe, I want to be sure our people is safe, I know… this is a suicide mission… I know the risk, but…you are the only one, do…it for… Demacia… for me, for Lux " Garen nodded, it was a dying man wish, and order of his king, it was not his to question it, just do it and die if needed " I will " he responded to his friend " Thank you…Garen, I know… you will come back " the king closed his eyes " Now I need some rest… before you go, there is a data disc I want you to… take " after he said this a panel opened, revealing a disc, it was old, almost an antiquity, Garen looked at it " What is this? " He inquired " Something… you may need… when you made king, or… even before, don't use it… unless is necessary, promise me… "

Garen nodded " I promise " he understood that, whatever was in there was important, he saluted and turned to leave, the star map turned off and only dim lights illuminated the room " One…last thing " Jarvan called " Take Lux with you, you… may need… her talents"

Without another word, Garen left, perhaps for the last time.

* * *

**Departure**

Two different paths, yet one same destination, just as if it was a carefully laid chess play, each moves its own forces, its own pieces, peons will be sacrificed, even kings may die, but the dance macabre of the war started, and there was no stopping it now, for they, both sides will fulfil their orders, even though hidden agendas run below the surface of the conflict.

On one side, the Measure Tread takes off, its mighty engines take the ship away from the spaceport, and the, away from Demacia, the trail of energy left by the thrusters say a cold goodbye to the marvellous blue planet, on the bridge, Garen and his sister Lux look at each other, his look troubled, hers, as always, positive, carefree, something that is a welcome change aboard the seriousness of the ship, she is happy, finally joining her brother in a mission, finally traveling in Demacia's finest vessel, Garen on the other side thinks of the battle ahead, on how to grant the safety of his sister and… what will happen once he finds the Sinister blade again?

On the other side, the massive battlestation begins its warp space sequence, Katarina stays on the bridge, every member of the crew works hard to complete their task, but she doesn't care, those trivialities are below her, she is completely ignorant to the encounter she will have soon, even though her mind thinks of him, while her alertness tells her to stay at the ready, something is hunting her from the shadows, something stalks and for the first time she doesn't feel safe on them.

The board is ready, the pieces set.


	5. Chapter 4: A gift to remember

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present."

_Bil Keane_

**Plans and Schemes**

It's been roughly a week since the Measured Tread left Demacia and despite the trip towards the Ionian border was made in less than 24 hours the problem was not the distance, but the approach. As soon as they got here Garen ordered scout probes out in preparation for the arrival of the battlestation, not long after they arrived, the station did as well. The hidden probes began relaying information of the station and its fleets movements and during this week, Garen had been looking into their defenses, patterns, supply runs trying to learn their schedules and find a way in.

It didn't take a military genius to know a head on assault was plain suicide albeit probably a few councilmen back home will be expecting that, they should have known better. "Still nothing brother?" an almost tweety voice called him from behind, the muscular Demacian turned his gaze to Lux, even though he smiled for her it was quite noticeable he hadn't been sleeping much "Not yet, their security is tight, so far I know they constructed a relay point in the moon they orbit" Garen said as his finger pressed a button on the console, showing Lux the relay station "The battlestation is almost completely offline, save for the vital systems, its curious not even the engines are on, but it's not drifting away".

Lux analysed the image "That relay station on the ground, its emitting waves, energy or anything like that?" Garen nodded "It is, but we can't classify what it is, aside the normal communications traffic" Lux walked towards her brother, leaning on his shoulder, she kissed his head "Go to sleep brother, I'll find us a way in if you promise to rest" Garen sighed "It's not your job, it's mine" he replied, unwilling to leave his task at hand "Out of the two of us, who is an infiltration specialist and who doesn't?" Garen raised, letting go a slight laugh there was not a way to argue with her, of the two she was the smartest "Fine, but I'll take care of the strategy once you find a way in" after playfully making Lux hair a mess, he walked out of the room leaving Lux to her business.

After getting a snack in the mess hall, Garen headed for the starport observation deck where he sat and contemplated the outside, gazing upon a planet that served as their shield against the enemy sensors, he didn't told Lux, but there was another reason why he wasn't sleeping, his dreams started to become clearer and he began to feel them more real, he saw suffering and pain across the dreams, but with every moment he spend sleeping he saw glimpses of a world he never knew, or epochs he never heard of.

And yet again, he falls sleep the dreams came back with new additions, this time the new addition was painful first he watched his own hands full of blood, his strength fading as his limbs went numb, the pain on his chest was excruciating, he could barely breath his senses began to fade and darkness clouded his vision, the last thing he saw were female hands holding him, a veil of red hair in front his eyes for a moment, then darkness and a voice calling him "Garen!, don't give in please I need you!" the voice cried it was obvious the female was crying, her broken voice told him so "Garen! I love you don't leave me please! Please! Garen!"

"Garen!"

He heard as he woke up, startled, sweating cold, quickly Garen looked as his hands as Lux keep calling him "Garen! Are you ok?" she called again as he felt confused checking his chest to see if there was wounds but there was none "Garen?" Lux said again kneeling before his brother "Are you ok?" Garen simply nodded as his hands covered his eyes, leaning forward he tried to recover "I thought you were on your quarters, it's been hours!" the worries on Lux expression was evident.

"I probably felt sleep… hours you say?" he inquired surprised he did feel a little more rested "Yes brother and while your sleepy head relaxed I found something" Lux replied excited more relaxed seen he was fine, but something in her told Lux that Garen was hiding something "So tell me, what did you find sister?" he interrupted before Lux could ask anything "The relay station is actually a tractor beam, it emits a gravitational force field that keeps the station in orbit, if we tweak a bit with this little ray…"

"We can pull the station into the moon and made it crash land in the surface…" The idea was in fact brilliant, getting inside the station was like getting into an ant nest, but instead of ants you have Noxian soldiers, however getting into the relay and altering its potency was paussible "You are a genius Luxana!" he said raising taking Lux in his arms "Can you do it remotely?" he inquired but he knew the answer beforehand "Of course not, besides I'm not letting you get all the fun, I'm coming with you and there is no way you convince me out of that!"

* * *

**Parting Gift**

For Katarina, the day was getting gloomier by the hour, the progress on the station was slower than what was expected, mostly because of the necessary change of location, adding the arrival of a full detachment of the Raedsel Guard to help with any "security issues" had the red head in quite the foul mood, ignorant that a small infiltration Demacian platoon landed on the moon she spend the day sparring planetside with a few of the Raedsel Guards, at least they proved something more of a challenge than the regular Noxian soldier.

"Is this the best you can do? You are supposedly the pride of Noxus!" she said while kicking the face of one of the guard, leaving him on the ground bleeding "Next!" she said twirling the training blades turning to face the next guard meeting her blades with his, blocking the first impact following with a kick to the shin a step back and finishing with a roundhouse kick right to the jaw.

Minutes later, she finished the "training" sessions, which was little less than a excuse to release her anger on Swain's minions. She walked alone back to the relay station, the moon was lush with life, almost completely covered in green, its atmosphere allowed for breathing and even life, but the region where the Noxians settled was already devastated by their operations, cut down tress dotted the landscape as well as ashen remains of the hill burned down to place the station, deep in her she regretted this, the moon reminded Katarina of the homeworld quite a bit, she sat on one of the cut trees, looking up her eyes gazing on the powerful ray forcing the almost inactive station in orbit.

"It makes you wonder" Talon said behind her, appearing out God knows where "Why does he send his guards, it seems obvious to do so, but still…" Katarina knew the next words, but simply shrugged the though "He wouldn't dare" she replied, simply looking at the guards walking back towards the station "Besides, is not like any of those could beat me in single combat"

Talon sighed, she was a little to prideful for her own sake "In single combat no, never, but if they all swarm you…" Katarina again simply dismissed him "Then why are you still here?" she inquired raising from the remains of the tree "If he is indeed trying to put an end to my life, you should be at Cassie's side, protecting her from harm" Knowing well that possible outcomes of her game and how hard the against her she was playing the plot and scheme games with Swain, she had a backup plan to at least make sure her sister will be fine "I will depart in the morning as you commanded, try to stay safe without me" Talon turned and vanished from sight again "As If I have ever need you or anybody" the red head retorted, half truth, half lie.

Hours passed in an uneasy calm, while the Demacian commandos approached the station, led by Garen and Lux, Katarina remained in silent sleep at her quarters in the orbiting battlestation, until the time came for Talon's departure, she raised and took a normal breakfast, a little earlier than most soldiers, allowing her to eat completely alone with her thoughts, it felt somehow like a last meal, somehow she knew something was going to happen, a sort of 6th sense every female seem to have, this intuition was tingling like a red dot, her skin feel the uneasiness, the eerie feeling crawled her spine with the anticipation of the unknown. Her mind clear after a brief moments brought back memories more than 900 years old…

It's a winter night, but it seems like summer, the heat is intense but is not natural; her skin seems to feel it as if it was yesterday, even though this skin was never there, but the memory seems fresh as new, vivid and real. She runs, hearing her own heels come down by the metallic ladder, the building is in flames, ashes cover her military uniform slightly, but the medals and ribbons are not Noxian in nature, not even the insignias on the shoulder, the only Noxian symbol she can recognize is the early design of the current Noxian coat of arms, but not tailored in the uniform but on a red armband. "Father!" she yells as her feet carry her lower into the bowels of the building basement, war had ravaged the world, plans are carried by the upper echelons of her faction to evacuate the planet as she searches for her father, she had lost too much already, she could lost more, she couldn't afford it, her mind couldn't afford it.

Finally she reached the reinforced steel doors her fingers hastily type the credentials needed to grant access, the screen shows her name and rank DuCouteau, Katarina, Col. and a picture of her wearing the same uniform, yet in better days. The doors slowly open, sliding to the sides as much as the damaged mechanism allows it stopping before they should, but she doesn't care the red head woman slips in between the opening and enters the falling laboratory "Father!" she screams again as she looks for her father, General Marcus DuCouteau who laid now under a cryostasis tube, face up, holding a small container on his hand "Father!" she yells in horror reaching for the man as fast as she can, kneeling close trying to lift the tube to no avail "Is hopeless Kat…I'm done for" he mutters, his eyes closed "Who would have though… he bested me in the… end" Katarina's fist slammed the tube in anger, cracking the crystal of the cover "It's not over! I won't let you give up, not you! I've lost too much already!" she said resuming her effort to free Marcus "Have you… really?" he says showing the double sided container to Katarina who looks at it in disbelief, recognizing the name tag marking the small contraption "Father…did you... why?".

Marcus coughs, blood comes from his mouth as he gazes upon his daughter confusion "I may not have liked him, but I'm…" coughs interrupts his speech as he struggles to steal a few more seconds of life "Sure… he will protect you…, is… your sister safe?" he inquired, opening his eyes, the pupils starting to grow "Yes father, Cassie is safe, Talon is with her, their evacuation ship will be leaving shortly" She couldn't avoid a tear going down her scarred cheek "Don't cry… my daughter" Marcus said reaching her cheek with his hand, Katarina felt the cold of the tube, but the warm of her father hand "This is… my parting gift, farewell.. Katarina"

The images fades as she sees herself screaming silenced in her mind, a new tear rolls down her cheek "900 years and I still cry… such a wimp" cleaning her face and raising she leaves the mess hall, heading towards the hangar where Talon awaits. Her hands play with something, a double sided tube with a name engraved on it, but one of the sides is now empty.

* * *

**Into the crow nest**

Talon boards the private transport that will take him back to Noxus, before getting inside he spares a final look to Katarina who stands at a safe distance from the transport engines blast, he can't avoid to feel something in the deep of his stomach, something telling him it will be the last time they see each other, impassive as always he nods to Katarina and enters the transport, for the first time hoping his instncts are wrong.

The red headed female turns away as the transport takes off and in a blast exits the hangar bay, moving into warp speed moments later, disappearing from the sector heading towards Noxus shortly after. Katarina resumes her normal and boring schedule, heading for the bridge, hours will go by with nothing to report.

But in the moon, things started to move, the Demacian commandos arrived at their destination, a group of barely 20 soldiers plus Garen and Lux, Garen looked at the Noxian camp, pulling out the modified binoculars to zoom in and examine the situation "I see around 20 guards patrolling, there has to be more" he says as he hand sign two soldiers to move for the flank "How close you need to get?" he inquires Lux smirks, a gesture quite uncommon on her "Guess brother" Garen simply curses as he order the small company to advance, the green camoflauge armors protect them from casual sight, but getting close enough the Noxians will without a doubt spot them "Night is about to fall, we wait until then and get in".

The night came, and with it, the Demacian forces began its approach, their commando power armors protected them from the thermal vision scanners with built in cooling systems, Garen was the first to approach, followed closely by Lux and two others "I hate this things" Lux said whispering to Garen "Well sister, they are ugly looking, but they keep us safe" he replied moving forward taking cover behind a crate the HUD on his protective lens marked his soldiers positioning, Lux followed again as the other two soldiers split to another crate nearby "Is not that!" the blonde said "I'm freezing my a…rear" she said, hushing the last word "Watch the language Luxanna" he scolded her as he peeked around the corner, spotting an approaching Noxian, signalling Lux to be quiet with a finger on his mouth Garen waits a few seconds as the Noxian pass by, with a single coordinate movement Garen grabs the Noxian and pulls him back behind the crate with such strength that he Noxian neck snapped, looking back he makes a quick light signal, the rest of the platoon moves in, another Noxian falls as the other 2 soldiers got him, in quick sucession and coordinated stealth assault, the Dauntless Vanguard commandos take down the first guards, passing undetected reaching the small relay station doors "5 stay here and watch, rest with me and Lux, move!" he whispers as Lux hacks the door entrance with ease and undetected "Hold!" she says placing a hand in Garen's chest "Wait, I'm doing something" she says not caring about Garen hurry to get inside "We have no time, if we remain too long in here they will discover us Lux!" the blonde types a few commands on her holopad almost ignoring her older brother "1 second… there, go!" she says as the door opens and they pour in "What exactly you did?" he inquires as they pull out weapons and start moving throught the hallways "Jammed their CC network, now they will see a continual feed of the same images" Garen could only marvel at his sister genius.

It wasn't long for them to arrive to their destination, the beam control room, without effort Garen and his soldiers subjugated the few Noxian officers and Lux began her work, hacking the Noxian's computers while uploading a virus just in case they tried to counter her little coding, Garen followed her progress on the screen as he keep constant check with the men outside.

Back in orbit Katarina was sitting bored, a watchwoman with nothing to do, a guard of a prison without mutinies, she wished something happened, but apparently it was going to be another boring day. She raised from the chair ready to call it a day, but as she walked outside she looked casually into one of the CC network screens seen a sort of indigenous rat from the moon pass by the hallway "Hmmp… I'll call pest control in the morning" she said, a sarcastic smile drawing on her face, but then she saw another one passing, sparking her curiosity "We may have a real pest in here…" the third one called her attention powerfully, making her realize it was the same rat.

Without thinking it twice she ran towards the screen, pushing the officer in charge out of the way "Fuck damn it!" she yelled calling the attention of everybody around "Somebody is cycling our CC network! Get me the men on the station!" the communication officer obliged but got no response from the ground, Garen men by now had eliminated most resistance and jammed communications "I want a full descent of troopers NOW!" she yelled as she ran towards the hangar bay, getting there in record time she found that the teams started to assemble, but it will take a little more time than what she wanted to, the only men ready were the Raedsel Guard Detachment

"They will have to do…" the assassin beauty said, not sure if this was any wiser than whatever the persons down there were trying.

Back on the ground Lux finished the code, sending the virus up to eliminate any possible firewall or electronic defense they may have "Done brother!, we better get out of here!" Garen couldn't agree more, the soldier ran outside, his men already took care of most of the base resistances that could bar them from leaving "Pilot, bring the transport, we are leaving" he commanded as they moved away from the room, seconds later, as a precaution measure, the room exploded, another safety lock to keep the Noxians from reacting.

The commandos left the installation, heading quickly back into the cover of the woods as the massive space station moved downwards, causing chaos inside and slowing the Noxians reaction even more, the massive tractor beam power output increased as it began to pull the station down, slowly but surely the station was getting suck into the planet atmosphere, pieces of the station broke away as the slow descent began, Katarina now in the Raedsel's ship cursed but there was nothing she could do, it was up to the guys in the station command room, but she knew the truth, the station was lost.

The transport passed over the fleeing Demacians, landing behind them as they ran, the sound of another set of engines was heard, the Demacian transport approached, but she didn't care, what she saw, what captured her mind was the man last on the Demacian platoon, the last of them running away, the only man who she knew will always be the first to enter a battlefield and the last to leave.

Garen Crownguard.


	6. Chapter 5: In the pawns of Destiny

"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it"

_Jean de la Fontaine_

**Decisions**

Chaos reigned inside the battlestation, officers worked hard attempting to stabilize the dying monster, but it was in vain, the beam was locked on them there was no way to escape. Lux's virus had already infected their systems so the beam couldn't be turned off nor they could activate the engines. Realizing the helplessness of the situation and in absence of the commander in chief, the second in command ordered the full evacuation everybody ran for their lives boarding the escape modules as soon as possible, needless to say any troop movement to the ground was cancelled in favor of rescue actions nor the station or the fleet will be sending soldiers planetside, they were too busy trying to save themselves from this disaster, such was Lux genius that she even calculated their response.

Below them, on the surface rain and thunder started as the Raedsel ship landed and Katarina was the first to jump out and charge forward followed by the Raedsel detachment "Blood for Noxus!" she yelled making Garen turn around, halting his escape. The soldier looked at her coming, charging at him such an image that called for a response in kind, the Demacian transport landed behind him, Lux boarded it and looked back "Garen come on!" she yelled immediately realizing what was going through her brother mind "Don't! Garen come here!" but Garen wasn't listening, the thrill of seen her, her passion, her fierceness everything called him to her and so he raised his sword ready to receive her deadly embrace but something happened that Garen did not foresee…

From behind one of the Raedsel guard spear attacked Katarina, alert as always she managed to dodge the strike towards her leg sidestepping, but a second attack came and the woman barely dodge by jumping the attack which left a sligth flesh wound on her leg, then a third came and that one she couldn't dodge as it caught her landing, the spear lodge on her thigh, pain crawled her spine as a electric charge immobilized her leg, Garen was not sure what he was seen, confusion overtook him something inside told him to go there and save the woman "Garen!" another voice called, Lux was yelling for him desperately. Garen turned to Lux then towards Katarina who was now kneeling, then back to Lux who called him again, his duty told him to go away and so he did running towards the transport his mind in turmoil he didn't know what to do, his feet carried him fast and he boarded the transport that hastily left the ground.

Katarina looked him go but a hard impact turned her to reality as one of the Raedsel struck her cheek, dizzy and confused she rolled in the ground as she finally reacted towards them, the first came and she jumped over him, her leg bleed profusely, but she had to endure and ignore she was alone all alone, after landing her blades came down the back of the soldier as she spun to behead him and parry another attack with her offhand blade but a second one came piercing her shoulder, the excruciating pain made her scream a scream that somehow reached Garen's ears, she then sliced the spear and spun again cutting the soldiers throat and releasing 3 daggers to kill another one that was going to attack her from behind, but a third Raedsel charged and the spear pierced her stomach, she was weak now, too weak kneeling almost in defeat, she looked at her attacker, Katarina's emerald eyes didn't seem to dim, she was defiant even in the end.

Garen watched as she struggled for her life from the air through the still open hatch, the voice in his head repeated over and over "Save her!" why he was asking himself to do that, why? "Save her, don't you see?!" his eyes posed on her after receiving that last spear, after the soldier removed the spear, forcing her down on the mud, her long hair laid in the ground, dirty, flocks of hair wet, blooded and his mind finally clicked, she was the woman in the dreams, the woman he was chasing he turned away in regret, moving into the transport…

But just to take impulse as he turned again and ran forward, his men and sister didn't give credit when he passed in between them and jumped through the hatch with his battlecry loud and clear that inspired fear in the Raedsel, the build in jet pack on his commando light power armor activated slowing his descent for a few moments, until Garen deactivated it to gain impulse as he landed on top of the guard closer to Katarina, the same that just pierced her stomach.

The Demacian General raised, the guard laid at his feet, his blue eyes showed hate and anger, they hurt her and that made him angry, something stirred in him that told him he was not going to let her die, Garen gazed upon them as his sword raised and charged, his foot stomped on the guard's head below him crushing his skull, sending a clear message to the Raedsel

None was going to leave this place alive.

* * *

**A dance of blades**

Garen now stood in between the Raedsel Guards and their prey any other Demacian would have not given contempt, but this was Garen Crownguard even the Raedsel knew well to fear this man, even if they won by numbers 50 to 1, well 46 to 1 now.

"Get up!" he yelled to Katarina behind him "You are much better than this! Are you not?!" behind him, the assassin tried to get herself up her knees shacked, her arms trembled and the blood loss was intense as so was the pain "I… I…" she mumbled, rain pouring on her skin, blood surrounded her, the water on her skin helped a bit as her eyes gazed to her savior, she was confused at first, her eyes wide open in surprise, and she was surprised even more when he offered her a hand to raise "The mud doesn't suit you" the phrase triggered one of her memories, which made Katarina smile and forget the pain for a second, her delicate hand posed on his as the man helped her up, now on her feet she nodded to Garen who turned and faced the Raedsel, Katarina got her back against him, now they both guarded each other and the Raedsel began to feel a quite unknown sensation for them…

Panic.

"You know soldier… I always wanted to dance with you, again" Garen was still not sure what she meant by always speaking as if they knew each other "There are some questions I need you to answer, but for now, I'll oblige to your wishes" and that said the dance began

Garen charged first against a terrified Raedsel, ramming him with the shoulder placing him off guard as the ascendant slash came up slicing him in half, snapping out of the trance the Raedsel beside tried to counter attack but was met with two blades on his chest, Katarina then sliced to the sides, cutting torso from legs as she jumped to the next target with lighting speed, thunders roared in the distance adding a strange music to this dance of death, a dance macabre. The next Raedsel felt Katarina's knees on his face, forcing him down as Garen came behind her impaling the guard to the ground with his blade, a blast of energy released from his sword in a vertical fashion blowing the insides of the guard to nothing, following this Garen turned and with the sword on one hand performed a vertical descending slash, cutting another guard in half, Katarina covered his back, shifting in a quick motion towards an approaching enemy and releasing a flurry of blades on his chest and then spinning to release a barrage of daggers towards the opposite side, catching 4 guards, daggers piercing their four eyed helmets, a second spin and she was again at Garen's back, who stood mighty and ready.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" she teased, Garen remained silent but nodded, he had to admit fighting along her was something he was rather enjoying "Keep your focus" he replied, almost scolding, almost "You are losing energy faster because of the blood loss, we need to finish this quickly, not to mention the gigantic piece of debris about to fall on our heads" Katarina looked at the sky, the station was falling apart and drifting towards the moon "Oh… that, clever by the way" she said to Garen "Save your compliments for my sister, she was the one who devised the plan" Katarina chuckled "I was surprised, you wasn't that brilliant before, I guess some things never change"

Garen huffed and moved forward, this time feinting as the Raedsel readied his spear to impale him, instead of that Katarina came by the side and killed him as Garen moved to another target, with might he parried the piercing spear and grabbed the Guard's head, pressure applied, he crushed the helmet and used him as a bashing weapon against another Raedsel, as he did this a blade pierced his side, Katarina quickly reacted and dispatched the attacker with a quick slice at its throat "Sorry!" she said jumping on to the next "See what I meant! focus!" he yelled as another Guard charged, Garen drops his sword and grabs the spear letting it pass by the side, making a show off his almost Godly strength he lift the guard and throws it away against a crowd of them, just like if a giant flipped a table "Not my fault you have that ass!" Katarina said as she backstabbed another guard, throwing a kiss in Garen direction, obviously by now the Demacian was bewildered with her taunts. In the meantime, Katarina moved quickly, shadowstepping here and there, slicing everytime she came out of a shadow, and with each slice another Guard laid death.

Unstoppable, unbeatable, a fearsome force of nature, a hurricane of blades, that what their dance seemed, there was no way for the Raedsel to win, and in the end just one remained, completely frightened against the two warriors in front of him, at the same time both charged, Garen blade found home on the Guard chest as Katarina's found the target at its back, the soldier died almost instantly, both warriors pulled out their blades and spined to finish off what was left of the soldier, but the body fell lifeless and their weapons clashed unintentionally, both breathed heavily, tired out of the titanic effort of killing more than 40 of the best Noxian soldiers, a baptism of fire, 40 to 1 in a sense, because they fought as one.

Their eyes met, for the first time without violence in them and Garen found her eyes enthralling, beautifully enthralling, she smiled at him her weakness was noticeable and dizziness took her, not able to hold any longer Katarina passed out, her blades falling in the muddy ground while her body leaned forward falling into the arms of Garen who promptly and instinctively dropped the sword to hold her.

And thus they remained idle and for a moment, Garen felt he found something he was looking for.

* * *

**Answers (Part 1)**

It was dark, way too dark, but Katarina knew somehow she was safe, she felt been carried away by strong arms, probably Garen's, she dare open her eyes slightly and indeed Garen carried her, handcuffed but in his arms "Save for the cuffs, this could even be considered romantic... I think I like the cuffs as well" she though, a smirk on her face, albeit it was barely visible considering she didn't even have strength left to make much of a facial gesture, she leaned her head on his chest, hearing his heart beat, such a lovely sound it made for her that made Katarina forget she was in the custody of Demacians, however since Swain betrayed her, why will it matter?, without much else to think or do, Katarina drifted back to unconsciousness.

The next time she woke up, she felt way better, not only her wounds were healing thanks to her advanced regeneration cells, somebody treated her wounds, the red head looked around she wasn't in a brig, rather it was a sickbay save for the fact she was tied to the bed she didn't look like a prisoner, more like another wounded, with the same clothing the wounded had and all.

On another section of the ship Garen, Lux and a couple of technicians examined Katarina's belongings, blades and daggers, her light body armor, resilient to an extent but mostly flexible, the damaged black suit, no explosives, nothing that seemed like a trap, apparently the betrayal by the guards was real.

"Why would they betray her, brother?" Lux inquired looking at one of the sharp blades "I don't know Lux, I don't know" he replied looking at the blade, the situation was confusing, was there a power struggle in Noxus? Why would swain lose one of the best he had? "Well, at least we got the station down, one less thing to worry" Lux concluded leaving the sword back on the table.

"Sir…" one of the technicians called to Garen holding the strange container Katarina carried, it was small, but the tag was what called his attention "What is it Connors?" he replied looking at the stranged expression of the man. Lux kindly took the container from the hands of the Technician and her surprise was evident "Garen…" she said showing the contraption to Garen, he immediately opened his eyes wide in surprise after reading the name on the tag…

Garen Crownguard…

"Why is your name on a Noxian device?" Lux inquired but Garen had no answer, only one person had the answer he needed "I don't know Lux, but I will find out" the soldier said taking the container and leaving the room with haste

Merely minutes passed as he walked towards the sickbay, entering without announcement he went straight for the isolation area where Katarina was held, two guards at the door saluted him, Garen walked inside after the door opened and seconds later it closed behind him.

"We need to talk" Garen said looking at the now recovering Katarina, she was sitting on the bed, still tied by metallic handcuffs to the furniture

"Yes we do, I have waited 900 years for this"


	7. Chapter 6: The Unspoken truth

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart"

_Haruki Murakami _

**Answers (Part 2)**

The isolation room seemed barely able to contain what was inside, Garen looked at the female tied to the bed, while Katarina looked back at him, even their eyes seemed to question each other in a strange form of nonverbal communication "What is this and why does it have my name?" Garen started the questions he wasn't a man who fooled around, always straight to the point.

"No time for games huh?" she replied, still buying a little more time, Garen expression changed from stern to impassive, a gesture Katarina seemed to recognize "Fine, fine" she added "It's a DNA and genetic memories preservation device; just in case you don't fully get what it is for, it's what we use to store our genetic strains and memories so a clone can be created and then the memories of the former clone can be injected on said new clone"

Garen raised an eyebrow this got stranger by the minute, why would Noxus had a device of those with his name, where they attempting to clone him? "That one is very old but we build things to last" Katarina continued her explanation, as she spoke her expression started to change which sparked Garen curiosity it went from her usual cocky smirk to a more sad and melancholic expression "It's actually more than 900 years old" Garen smiled with a cynical hint "So, you are using a 900 years old device to clone me?" a slight laugh escaped his mouth as he raised the half full device "Why not use a new one?" he inquired showing the device to Katarina "I bet you guys are missing components since this thing is half empty" Katarina looked at him first confused, then laughed hard for a few seconds, which caused Garen anger "What is so funny?!" he barked "Why does this thing has my name on it then?!"

Katarina finished laughing, but she wasn't mocking him "900 years and you are still the same, I can't believe it! You are an identical copy of yourself!" Garen froze in place once it all clicked in place "What are you talking about?!" he asked "What nonsense are you saying?" Katarina sighed, she imagined this moment on her head for too much time, making it a perfect meeting, quite different from what was happening now "You are a clone" she started, Garen froze in disbelief "The original you existed 900 years ago or more I can't remember exactly, the empty part of the container was the part that held your genetic strain I injected it on several ovules that then I secretly implanted on the women that married your descendants or descended from your family line, so far none of them produced what I wanted, until now" Katarina looked at him so perfect, basically identical to his predecessor "There was always a problem, either a mutation, or the product didn't birth, or it was different from you, or it wasn't you or it was weak, since I had to use those women wombs, there was no way to ensure success, I couldn't breed you in a Noxian lab, it was too risky and it wouldn't be you, but finally here you are, all those failures… but you, you are perfect"

The Demacian couldn't give credit to her words this was way too strange, way too crazy, was she delusional? the quesiton crossed his mind "Hmmp, what an elaborate lie, albeit is quite hard to believe it" and that was exactly what troubled him, she was a great lier or so he heard, why create a lie that wasn't believable? "Are you on drugs or something?" Katarina exploded with his words, trying to raise she pulled the restrains in anger "Is all true!" she yelled, her eyes fixed on him "How could it be? Noxus and Demacia have never been together, how could we have meet each other before?" he inquired "Because it wasn't always like this!" she replied again pulling on the restrains tying to free herself "There was one time, hundreds of years ago that we were one, both Noxus and Demacia, we came from the same origins, you have been fed lies, just like the people of Noxus, you and your people have been fed lies by your leaders to throw more wood in the fire of the hatred, I was there!" she continued, yelling almost desperate to make him believe "I have been cloned through 10 lifetimes, you know what is to live 950 something years like this? Without the person I cared the most?..." she said and her mood changed completely, she turned her face way, hiding her eyes below the vibrant red flocks of hair falling on her forehead "Without you…" and in desperation tears crossed her cheeks "It's been too long… far too long" even if she won't admit it, she expected something different, she hoped that, by the time they met, by the time she made sure he was the right one, their meeting will be different, that he will hold her in his powerful arms as he did before, that she will lean on his chest and hear that lovely sound of his heart beating for her, but no, things went to hell again, she tightened her fist around the restrains, feeling frustrated and defeated, her teeth gritted as she tried to hold back the tears of desperation.

Garen on the other side was completely lost; he couldn't make head from tails out of all this was she really lying? This was way too elaborate and weird for a simple lie "I have been a ghost… living like this is a torture, now I know that, just like you said it before" Garen looked at her, she was now smiling, her eyes full of tears, he realized she was smiling at him, just how this turned out like this? his mind felt off balance, unable to understand "The part that is missing was your genetic strain the other part is your memories, all your old self knew is there, is the missing piece of the puzzle" Garen looked at the device his finger accidentally pressed a small button on the back and a needle came out "Inject it on the back of your head and your memories will return, it won't be as seamless as we Noxians do it, because… well" she chuckled sadly "Your former self has been death for a long time"

Garen contemplated the device, this all was too strange "What happened to this world we lived in… what happened to me?" he inquired, he couldn't believe what he was doing, asking something that his mind said it was a lie, but his gut, his heart told him it wasn't "The homeworld was made barren in the wake of war, we destroyed everything, it was what we called the Factions War, it happened after the birth of today ideals and creeds, even though Demacia and Noxus doesn't existed by that time, we wore their current symbols in armbands, even if we were part of the same organization, like the army, like you and me…" Garen walked closer to her, standing in front of the bed his eyes seemed diferent "Army?" he inquired "Yes, we were both Colonels in the army, two of the most condecorated soldiers, albeit by diferent ways, you were the paragon of a soldier, strong, gallant, brave, honorable, while I was the best the black ops had to offer, we met in a battlefield, your unit came to save me from a mission gone wrong, only you and myself came out alive and a bond formed between us I even remember how we held hands together as they moved us away in stretchers" a sniffled sob left her lips "from there we dated, spend time together and…" she hushed again turning her face away but this time the melancholic smile surfaced again "Tell me" he requested, genuinely interested to know "We married, although we didn't have any children hehe, it would have been easier to clone you from your own line, although that would have been weird"

Garen dreams now started to become clearer, the flames, the homeworld on flames "When the war began, even though we supported different factions we tried to remain as neutral as possible, but somebody didn't want us to, so they…" her voice broke as she whispered the words "They killed you, they cowardly murdered you" her fist tightened, holding the blankets now, the fury she was restraining was incredible "You died in my arms, bleeding, I called you, I tried to save you, but it was all in vain, all in fucking vain!" her fist slammed the bed, making Garen take a step back "I mourned you for so long… the world was falling apart, I ran to my father, but they got him too, my father was the second most important person on the faction, and they killed him too, I reach him when he was barely breathing and he gave me that" she said pointing to the device "Its funny" she said smiling in between tears "He never liked you, but he saved what you were to make me happy, to protect me"

Garen felt his knees shacking, all of his being trembled at the realization of the meaning of his dreams, they were not dreams but a genetic memory of his past, his own death, the destruction of his own world "No… this can't be, it can't be!" he yelled as he turned from Katarina "That is the truth!" she yelled in return "Accept it, you can't escape from it, you are clone of a great man, the least you could do is act like him and accept the truth!" Garen turned to her, almost getting in the bed he faced the woman, his eyes blazed "NO! I'm not a clone I'm not a copy of anybody!" he struggled with it, but he knew it was the truth "Then I'll make you see the truth!" she yelled back and her hands went free, Garen never noticed that her hands were free, with a quick movement she stripped Garen from the device and injected it on the back of his head, pain reached directly into his brain as the memories flooded his mind, his eyes became white as he convulsed caused by the erratic synapses on his brain surfacing because of the information injected, making him fall backwards with Katarina on top, she hold him as much as she could to avoid the man from biting his own tongue or harming himself until the convulsions stopped.

"I'm sorry…I'm so very sorry" she whispered on his ear "I didn't want it to come to this, believe me I didn't want it" her hand careesed his cheek as she softly kissed his lips "I'm so very sorry… but you needed to know, you deserved to know, I did all this because I wanted to bring you back, I wanted to have you with me, my love for you have survived all this time, but now that I see you I don't know if yours did I was so blind, I just want to go back to those days below our favorite tree, those days in our house at the countryside, those nights you gave me…"

Katarina raised and cleaned her tears "But I'm not sure anymore of what will happen when you wake up, that is up to you, it's your decision, but no matter what, even after all this years, all this Katarinas, I still love you" that said she stripped from the patient clothing, completely naked she looked to the ceiling and jumped, getting a hold of the ventilation shaft, she removed the ceiling panel and got herself in, not 5 minutes passed when Sona came in, seen Garen on the floor she activated the alarm, guards came in, but Katarina was gone.

* * *

**Of duty and debts**

Noxus capital was a dark contrast to Demacia's, black buildings towered the streets dimly illuminated by the mortician light of the public lamps Noxus, contrary to popular Demacian beliefs was not at a constant night, but the planet wide shield filtered the light in a way that it appeared so, Noxians got used to this and they thrived in this environment of unnatural selection a dark jungle where only the fittest and strongest survived, there was no place for the weak in Noxus and there was no exile for them, once born a Noxian you die a Noxian and in death you may find your purpose to serve Noxus, a motto all citizens were well aware of.

If the surface was bad, the bowels of the planet were worst; places of even more fearsome nature. Under the cities the Noxian government had set inmense chambers where they keep the abominations, failed genetic strains who Swain deemed still useful as cannon fooder or shock troopers to serve the purposes and benefit of Noxus, yet having no right of their own, Noxians officers could dispose them as they saw fit, all of them cursed, doomed to oblivion or death if they were lucky, all except for one…

One that hid in the DuCouteau house, the younger daughter of the late General DuCouteau, Cassiopeia was spared that fate by her family influence, once a godly beauty walking on Noxus she was horribly mutated in her last cloning attempt, something went horribly wrong and after the injection of memories a mutagen filtered into her transforming the once beautiful woman into a nagaesque creature, her green eyes were lost forever replaced by white pupils, claws replaced her delicate hands, only her torso and long curly red hair remained as the woman she once was, from that day forward, Cassiopeia hated her reflection on the mirror.

The tragedy that involved the DuCouteau household was known by all of Noxus and there was no way to reverse it, strangely her genetic strain data was lost during the accident and so was the records of her memories, Cassiopeia was doomed to die after this life, there won't be more of her there was not a future, just suffering.

The snake woman spend her days crawling around the halls of the manor, sometimes finding comfort on making other miserable, sometimes grieving her lost beauty, sometimes spending time with her only family left, Talon and Katarina, there was nothing more for her now.

"Miss… Mistress" a shaky voice called entering Cassiopeia's room the house servants were always afraid of her, more than one already left the service of the DuCouteau for this reason, not all of them alive "What isss it?" her serpentine voice responded as she came out of the shadowy corner of her room, her senses delighted in the fear of others "There… is a messenger downstairs, he said he has an urgent message for you, he didn't give a name" Cass hissed, quickly approaching the servant "I don't like been disssturbed!" her fangs came out as she spoke, scaring the hell out of the poor guy.

"This is important" the strong voice from the door forced her to look on that direction, the voice didn't sound human, at least not all of it, there was something strange on the hulking hooded figure "Your sister died failing her duty, Emperor Swain had commanded me to inform you" Cass hissed at the messenger words "What!? That'ssss imposssssible!" she scowled, her serpentine voice showing her alteration as she approached the passive man fangs glaring as well as claws "You are a liar!" she said lunging forward her claws ripping the hood apart, but the face below forced her away out of mere terror.

The man below was not really a man, at least not for quite some time, his skin looked green, rotten, his eyes were red, his face twisted in an eternal mockery of his former self, one of his hands was pure bone and machine, his muscles remained still, pulsing with strength "Have no fear, you will join her soon" the cadaveric hulking figure said to Cassiopeia as his hand pulled a terrifying axe from his back in a split second Cass saw him charging at her, but she was no sassy socialite, she was the youngest daughter of Marcus DuCouteau, even if she was not as skilled as Katarina she knew the drill; with a quick move she slides out of harm reach as the axe came down slicing everything in its path screaming servant included, the hulking abomination turned around swinging the axe to catch her but Cass ducked and glided forwards again going out of harm way.

"Come here slithering lady!" the muscular being yells "You can't dodge me foreva!" the abomination jumped, closing the gap between him and Cass, who went for the door but the flying axe hitting the wall cornered Cass baring her escape, the monster ran and tackled her slamming the naga female against a wall causing a shriek of pain to come out her lips "Let me go!" she yelled as her claws tried to rip the rotten skin to no avail, the creature didn't seem to feel any pain which made her terror grow, even more when the monster surrounded her with his arms, pressing her delicate waist sending ripples of pain all over her body, to make things worse, he started slamming her over and over in the wall until she almost lost consciousness and could only feel when the monster threw her away. Laying on the floor Cass looked at the door but the dizziness was too much, she couldn't move and now the creature blocked the way, recovering his axe ready to end her life he walked slowly towards her Cass could feel fear, and apparently the creature smelled it as he raised the axe to finish her off; and it would have finished her if it was not because of the spinning circular blades that sliced through the abomination wrist and kneels, maiming him severely, the blades returned to their origin, a brown haired men stood in the door, after catching the weapons, a retractile blade extended behind his arm with sure pace he approached the monster who was now lying in the floor without hands and legs "Pathetic" his lips opened barely as his blade came down the monster head, finishing off the creature.

Talon immediately ran to Cass, placing his arm under her back, he helped her seat "Are you ok?" he inquired, making a quick check by eye "Yesss… where iss Kat?" she inquired worried, her bones ached, the pain keep her still in a numb state "I don't know, it doesn't matter now" he steeled himself, knowing probably Katarina was no longer among the living "Can you walk?" he inquired, urging to escape, the mansion was compromised, this thing wasn't the only one that will be chasing them now "Isss been a while since I can't" Cassiopeia responded, her lips letting a slight giggle escape. Helping her up, Talon carried her on his shoulder as Cass wrapped her tail around Talon waist "What isss happening Talon?" she inquired, hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Talon turned, knowing well the hunt began already "Hold on tight Cassiopeia" he said running quickly against the nearest window and jumping out, like a swift shadow he landed safely Talon was a Noxian breed for this, a mere jump wasn't going to slow him down, he quickly moved away from the house, pulling out a small device from one of his cloak pockets "Clearing order 999, passcode "Of the knife", execute" he spoke to the device, as he finished, the whole mansion exploded, foreseen this moment Talon had already prepared beforehand, he was glad the old explosives still worked that will probably slow them down.

Talon moved as fast as he could with Cass on his shoulder, the walk was not comfortable for her, especially considering the amount of broken bone she got in the assault of that monster, but she tried to keep her pain groans to a minimum, Talon was doing and incredible effort to pass unnoticed, but it was all for naught, as he soon learned when an acid grenade landed in front of him, Talon managed to jump into safety, avoiding most of the damage, but receiving part of the splash on his arm covering Cass, the burning was intense, but the he ignored the pain and looked at the foe in front.

"Urgoth" he said "Swain is too overconfident if things abominations will kill me, Sion is down already, you want to be the next?"

Urgoth barely spoke by now, he was little less than a machine bent on destruction a maniacal laugh escaped from the mechanical contraption of a mask he wore in the face "Of course not, good ol' emperor won't send just the freaks to enjoy!" a cynical voice sounded close to Urgoth as Draven appeared "Right big bro?" and then Darius appeared from behind, Talon was cornered.

Gently leaving Cass on the ground he prepared for battle, the retractile blade extended once more "Hide Cassiopeia, I will be with you shortly" he expected to find some resistance, but he was slowed down way too much by Cass, that gave them time to send 3 against him and the Raedsel shouldn't be far "Oh yea, both will join with the wench in the other life don't cha worry" Draven said, cocky as ever, Talon retorted, his eyes shooting blazes at him "Silence, you all will just be another body for the Gutter!"

Talon disappeared, causing the the three of them to pull out weapons the assassin was well known for his stealth tactics, from the left tree dagger like disc came out Darius and Draven moved from the way in time while Urgoth took the tree to his immense abdomen, the blades cut and a dark red with tints of green liquid poured out, the beast countered shooting his acid grenade towards the spot where the blades came, hitting nothing but air, Talon appeared behind Darius, the assassin was fast and his blade deadly, he quickly dashed and slashed Darius back, thanks to his armor he was able to dodge death, were it not for the metallic protection Talon's blade would have ripped his spine out, Talon moved again in the shadows his suit cloaking device working at max capacity, he jumped on Draven going for his head, Draven was quick and dodge the blade but Talon was better as he landed behind him 3 dagger disc left his cloak and landed on Draven's back throwing him to the ground.

Talon appeared again, dashing right straight to Urgoth the assassin was an agile shadow, jumping from one enemy to another, trying to wear them down with run and hide tactics, the tree Noxians were ready for everything that could meet them head on but they were ill prepared for Talon, the shadowy man reached his obese target in the blink of an eye, his blade pierced Urgoth chest, he pulled the weapon out fast and moved right on time to dodge a strike from Darius axe that hit Urgoth opening a nasty cut on his shoulder sending him to the ground bleeding profusely as the DuCouteau guardian went back swiftly into the shadows.

Darius felt like an idiot, not only they weren't able to take down one man, he was basically humiliating them, the General of Noxus raised his axe defensively, trying to discern Talon next attack he waited, listened, prepared, his ears detected a step then a heartbeat in a quick motion Darius swing his axe turning around to hit Talon clashing blades with the assassin, Darius superior strength gave him the upper hand sending Talon away after the impact but Talon was not so easily shrugged off, flipping in mid air a barrage of double bladed knifes are thrown against Darius by a vanishing Talon, he tried to parry as much as he could but in the end the barrage defeated him and he was nailed against a nearby wall by the attack.

Defeated, Darius breaths heavily Talon reappears and the knifes come back to him as Darius falls to his knees, Talon smiles as he approaches, placing his blade on Darius throat "This is not a challenge" the assassin says victorious raising his blade ready to end Darius, but before he could put Swain's most trusted officer to the blade a familiar buzzing sound called his attention, like a flying saw Draven spinning axes soared the air, Talon was ready to dodge but he realized he was not the target…

There was no other way, he needed to jump and so he did he put himself in between her and the axes, both hit him straight on the chest and the world became silent as the axes found home in his flesh pushing him back, falling to the ground mortally wounded breathing heavily "Talon!" he barely heard her voice calling, Cass ran to his side "Talon get up!" she said, commanding him, but Talon couldn't move his heart bleed with every beat more than half the axe blade was buried deep beneath his skin, lungs pierced, blood coming out of his mouth, making it nearly impossible to talk a single lucky strike Draven had, and he used it well "Run…what are you waiting for… spoiled little girl…run" he said his hand raising to caress her cheek, wet by tears "Run…" he said before his hand fell down without strength "NO! Don't go, don't leave me alone!" Cass screamed as Draven caught her from behind, assisted by Urgoth they took her away as she screamed and cryed.

Darius walked heavily standing over Talon's dying body, he had to admit that, if it wasn't for his brother dishonourable and lucky move, Talon would have finished them all and so, Darius did what he does best and he gave Talon the honor of his axe.

A single slash, a single execution a single motion and a head rolled, as silently as he came into this world he left.

**Awakening**

The ship was in a ruckus, every security member and troopers scrambled in search of the missing Noxian who attacked their commander, Garen was now in the sickbay under constant watch of Sona and Lux, in a fury the young blonde ordered a full search for Katarina. Sitting beside his bed, Lux looked at the strange device they found near Garen's body, "What could this thing be?" she asked herself over and over, nor she nor Sona could tell, according to Sona, Garen was fine, his brain showed a lot of activity, but physically he was perfectly fine.

Away from the sickbay, Katarina wandered the ship through the ventilation shafts, looking for the storage where they left her equipment which would probably be heavily guarded, something she didn't care of. After an hour or so of been lost inside the enormous ship she found the armory, the ducts for the armory where even slimmer than the regular one she had been using to move around the ship and for once in 10 lifetimes she cursed her curves as she crawled in the small space they left, as she moved the space seemed to reduce enough to bar her from passing, she crawled a few meters back cursing "Now what… run ass naked through the front door?" she asked herself trying to find a solution, mentally sizing the space she looked at herself "This is going to hurt…" holding her shoulder hard with her hand she dislocated her shoulder causing pain ran up her spine and into all her body nervous system, her lips bit so hard a thin line of blood came down from it, once she recovered briefly she tried again, making it to the other side after sliding her hips somehow inside, full of bruises and cuts "Stupid tight ass Demacian… ships!" she said as she put her shoulder back to its place, causing more pain on her body.

Finally reaching the ventilation shaft she took a look inside, there wasn't anybody in there, she descended upon the room and took her stuff, arming quickly she took the same way she got in, leaving no trace she was there, save for the equipment missing, repeating the same operation but this time passing her weapons first, she dislocated her shoulder, passed and put it back to place, with quite a lot of cursing in between.

"Now, where did I saw the hangar?" she said, trying to memorize the route, after a brief moment she set her way and moved quickly as a shade, reaching the hangar quickly she left the ventilation system and hid behind a crate, now the problem was how to open the hangar doors, hiding behind crates and ships she moved undetected, until she reached the flight control room, without problem she subdued the warrant officer there and released the locks on one of the dropships as well as she started the opening sequence of the hangar, red alarms blared, Katarina quickly jammed the control, the hangar staff ran for safety as security teams ran for the controls, it was more than obvious who was responsible for this, said person didn't remain to watch. As the team came in she jumped through the flight control room crystal, the room was basically a control tower in the center of the gigantic hangar, using her inhuman grace and agility she climbed down jumping from place to place and then ran for the unlocked dropship as the hangar doors started opening, without the vacuum shield activated space began to suck everything not held into the ground.

Katarina jumped into the ship and closed the hatch, the transport dropship was pulled towards space as the doors finished opening activating the engines she got away fast enough to avoid retaliation, safety bulwarks closed to cover the flight control room and finally an emergency bulwark sealed of the hangar from outer space, her daring maneuver was later informed to Lux, who was even more angrier than before but decided to not chase her for now.

It wasn't long for her to arrive at Noxus pushing the dropship engines to the limits the nimble transport arrived undetected by the watch fleets until it reached the planet's atmosphere, Katarina ejected the pilot seat, leaving the dropship to crash land, that will give her enough time as search parties will check the crash site first, once she set foot on Noxus she moved immediately, heading for the mansion, still undetected she arrived at what was left of it after a brief examination, she determined the cause of the explosion, glad that Talon and Cassiopeia had run away to safety, now she just had to find them, which could prove difficult.

Making her way out of the property, she secured something to cover her head and disguise herself as any other Noxian citizen from the remains of the house. She moved among the Noxians in plain daylight, hidden as the average citizen until something called her attention powerfully, in some of the many giant screens hanging from the buildings of Noxus, Emperor Swain gave a message, a message that spoke of betrayal, her betrayal…

The screens showed footage of her fight with Raedsel, helped by none other than Demacia's mighty champion, Garen Crownguard, as it also screened the fall of the battle station into the planet, the estimates of death was around 200,000 Noxians, Swain sold the story good, now every person in Noxus claimed her head. But it didn't end there, now Swain gave some words to the already angered population "The DuCouteau betrayal will be dealt with soon! their rotten state now lies in ruin and the remaining family members are in our custody" the people cheered, but Katarina knew better, Talon won't let him caught them alive, she walked away until a familiar sight caught her attention, a double sided blade left on the street, she quickly walked towards the spot and casually picked it up, that was when she saw Talon, hiding in an alleyway, her heart felt relief at the sight and she moved closer, again trying to pass undetected. As soon as she got within word range she spoke "Why haven't you leave the planet?" she inquired, Talon remained on the shadows "They have all the ports under heavy guard, but I have secured a ship, Cassiopeia is there, but she is hurt" the words of the assassin made her fear for the condition of Cass "Take me there!" she commanded, to which the assassin just nodded and made a sign for her to follow.

Both went quickly under the streets of Noxus, a safer passage than been in sight at plain daylight, even considering the abominations below, Katarina knew the Noxian army will never dare to follow them here "Shhh!" Talon whispered, alerting her, the scent of the place was more a stench, not allowing Katarina the use of her highly developed senses "What is it?" she inquired Talon simply called her to be nearer "I heard something" he said once she was close enough.

Close enough for the hand that went for her chest, close enough for the illusion to fade and for Katarina to discover the trick too late, Talon form changed, revealing a white woman with black purplish hair an ornate crown adorned her head and the hand that was touching her turned into a staff with a crystal at the end, a crystal that engraved on her flesh causing her to bleed and feel pain, following with a discharge of energy that immobilized every single inch of her body, still conscious she gazed upon the deceiver, the face was easy to distinguish, the makeup, the regal pose, none other than Empress Emilia LeBlanc "Just smoke and mirrors darling" she said laughing, he consciousness slipped as the sound of metallic military boots reached her ears…

Yet as Katarina lost consciousness, far beyond Noxus in the fringe of Ionian space another person opened his eyes, virtually for the first time in 900 years, the blue eyes looked diferent, filled with something that was not there before, knowledge lost and recovered, a person that was two made one again.

"Sona! He is awake!" Lux yelled


	8. Chapter 7: What the future holds

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

_Edmund Burke_

**Waking up to a nightmare**

"How long had he been there?" the young blonde asked the watchmen outside her brother door "Hours already my lady, and he doesn't seem to be coming out soon, he locked the door with his personal code, I have tried to hear what he is doing" he replied "So far I have heard just his voice every now and then, but I can't discern what he speaks, I'm pretty sure I heard clearly the words Homeworld and him speaking about a woman, but that is all" Lux sighed, after Garen woke up from the infirmary, he simply raised and went away running, not stopping to see her, not even answering to her call Sona was as surprised, it was as if he had just rebooted his mind or something. The brain pattern Sona show to her troubled the delicate blonde they were diferent, quite diferent from his brother's, his were still there, but there was something else, something new, an addition of sorts, but nothing could be tell from mere brain scans.

Inside the room Garen eyes remained fixed on the screen of his personal network station, he had tried gaining access into the Demacian information network in an effort to confirm the images now flooding his mind, his eyes looked tired, his blues looked as his finger typed, nothing, it had been hours and had found nothing, did the Noxian drugged him? "What am I doing…" he inquired, waiting for a response that never came, he sighed, for a moment he wanted to believe such beautiful memories, Katarina his wife, a world before the war ravaged their race, a happy life with a beautiful woman, a woman to love a woman who loved him back, everything was so dreamlike, there was no way it could be true…

His hands reached his face in a gesture of defeat, the open palms rubbed his face "Even is this was all true, how could I love her? Am I really that person she said I am, what about the person who has lived this life?" another sigh escaped his mouth, suddenly his gaze stumbles on to something he had almost forgot, the old data disk given by Jarvan "Hmmm…" he mumbled curiously "Well, why not?" he said as he removed the disk from the case and placed it on the network station, even though it was old, the machine was able to read it and the screen lit up with the Demacian coat of arms, nothing Garen had not seen before, as he expected the Disk was highly encrypted and required a password, typing his ID, he noticed the disk accepted the credentials even though it was old, the encryption was quite secure this made him wonder about the contents, and the first image in front of his eyes was like a fist right on the face…

There it was the image of a planet, a planet he knew well, then the files ran through many more images, all of them were familiar to Garen all the while a voice spoke explaining what he was looking at, as if he didn't already knew what it was, he knew every place, every inch, every piece of the information he knew about it thanks to Katarina, now he knew it was all true, he and his people had been fooled for a long time, just as the Noxians, except for a few, he had discovered the ties that bind the two nations, he had just discovered the eternal ties that bind him to Katarina.

"Everything is true… then, she…I…" his thoughs ran at the speed of light, trying to comprehend the magnitude of all this, his life a simple addition to something older, stronger, the hate towards Noxus, fed with lies when they all come from the same place, Garen fell to his knees, feeling a whirlwind inside his head "Who am I then… who am I?"

"You are Garen Crownguard" a voice sounded firm in his head, it was a man voice, strong, powerful, mighty in fact it was his own voice and with a single thought, all his doubts vanished and he accepted the truth for what it was, like the miracle of a man been resurrected to a new life he understood that, he was still the same, just wiser, he understood that, the feeling of emptiness he felt his entire life had been finally filled, he felt whole, stronger finally reunited with something he didn't knew he was searching for, but something he knew he was missing, for he was only the continuation of a man who everybody though long dead and it was time to prove them wrong.

Raising as a spring pressed for a while, Garen reached for the door after taking the disk and his personal intercom with him "Where she could have gone to…" the answer was simple, her sister Cassiopeia was still in Noxus if she had been betrayed then she was in danger with only Talon as the last line of defense, but Garen knew better, he knew Swain, now he really knew Swain, Talon had more in his hands than he could handle, the Demacian remembered Talon well now, the loyal guardsmen of his father in law, Marcus DuCouteau, skilled, deadly but just one men.

The door opened and he met his sister prying eyes, it didn't matter that he was technically 900 years old, she was still his sister and that wasn't going to change "Garen!" she said throwing herself in his arms "Are you ok brother?" she inquired, trying to hold tears back "Yes Lux, I'm better than never" he said leaving his little sister back in the floor "I need a ship and my armor, immediately" he said to guardsmen who promptly nodded and walked away as Garen made his way for the hangar "Brother what's wrong?" she inquired trying to follow, Garen turned and gave her the disk "Everything sister, everything but for once I'm going to make things right"

That said the General jogged forward, heading for the hangar "Roche, do you hear me?" he said knowing well he did "Yes my lord, good to have you back" the commander responded hastily "Set course for the Noxian border, you are dropping me in there, then you will return to Demacia" the commander didn't gave credit to the words "But sire… that is suicide, even for you!" in his frantic disbelief Roche accidentally activated the ship wide intercom, opening the conversation to the entire ship "General, you can't go to Noxus alone!" the words echoed on every member on the vanguard, soldiers raised from their beds, other left their task and stood listening "Roche, I'm giving you an order, I will go on my own, this is something personal, something only I care about, now fulfil my last orders!" Garen knew well what he was going to do, but he didn't care about the odds, he felt something that he couldn't describe when near that woman, he wasn't sure if the feeling was fabricated out of the memories or it was something real, but he wasn't losing her a second time.

Steps sounded everywhere as Garen made his way through the hallways, not paying much attention, finally reaching the hangar his eyes didn't give credit to what he saw"Attend HUT!" the officer yelled as the last members of the Vanguard fell into formation, the display of discipline would leave anybody, friend or foe breathless, perfectly formed lines of men and women standing straight saluting their commander, Garen entered the hangar warily not sure what was this all about "At ease" he said, causing the soldiers to change stance "What is going on here?" he yelled to the officers "Sir, we have been told we are going to Noxus, sir!" the response came from one of the soldiers "You have been told wrong soldier, I am going but you all are going to return home, that is an order" Garen said coldly "Sir, will all due respect, we are not sir!" another soldier replied at the same time Lux entered the hangar, breathing heavily after running behind her brother "Don't you understand!?" Garen shouted his face in anger as he took one of the soldiers by the shirt, the young man remained still, eyes meeting Garen's "I'm going alone, you can't throw your lives away just because your commander is going to…"

"Sir, with all due respect we don't care about your reasons sir!" another soldier joined "We are loyal to you sir and we will go to hell and back with you for whatever reason you need us to sir!" Garen released the soldier and took a step back, there was no way to convince them, he trained all those soldiers personally, over the years in his service he had seen many of them die, other he saw grown, but none left the Vanguard willingly or walking, once you are part of it you either stay on it or die out of it.

"Your soldiers made their choice, I don't know what you are going after, and I don't care, I will go with you, all the way to Noxus" A smile appeared on Garen face, he couldn't hide the happiness of having them in the ride, even though knowing what it could mean, but they all made their choice out of loyalty, he couldn't disrespect that "Roche, new orders" he said raising his head as if he was looking for divine advise "We are going to Noxus, set up course and prepare for combat!"

"Aye General!" Roche responded "HOA!" the soldiers behind responded, Garen turned, his eyes revealed how grateful he was to all of them "Gear up soldiers!" he said dismissing the vanguard and everybody entered into action running for their gear, Garen turned to face Lux, her inquisitive eyes scanned her brother "I know you are doing this for her" Garen blushed, trying to hide his eyes from his sister's blues "But I also know there is something else" the blonde raised the disk between her fingers "And you are going to tell me everything"

* * *

**Execution Grounds**

Katarina woke up, feeling dizziness starting to vanish away, numbness all over her body the darkness from her gaze started to fade, revealing a sight she knew well, although never from this side of the table, the dark room, barely lit by artificial sources it smell of blood. Is not that Noxians didn't clean their cells, they left them this way, psychological warfare Swain called it, quite effective on the weak-minded, but never on somebody like her.

"Sis…? Kat?" a broken voice called her, her heart stopped as she turned to the sound of a moving panel, revealing a screen showing her sister in gruesome torture, Cass shrieked in pain as Katarina's hand tried to reach for her touching the screen and receiving an electrical discharge back "Emotional aren't we?" the ruthless voice started from outside the screen "Let her go monster or I'll slit your throat!" the raspy laugh that followed only made her angrier as she tried again to catch the foe behind the screen, again in vain as another discharge reminded her Swain was not there "Let her go bastard! Don't harm her she knows nothing!" Katarina yelled, feeling her sister pain, the pain the monster known as Urgoth was causing "Kat! Please help me!" Cass cried, tears on her eyes as the monster scarred her skin even more "Stop!, please stop!" Katarina asked "Intriguing, the Sinister blade pleading" a female voice from off the screen said, most likely Empress LeBlanc "You won already! Why you harm her?!" she inquired falling to her knees as Urgoth tortured Cass even more, causing more pain and screams that made Katarina feel the pain as her own.

"In 900 years I have never seen you in such a position, it is satisfactory" Katarina turned to the screen, now showing LeBlanc and Swain, but the screams of Cass didn't stop, her eyes looked at them full of hate, a murderous hate "It is quite simple, I know you have wanted to betray me since the beginning it was a consequence of acquiring this position unchallenged, of removing your father so you understand better" Swain paused, allowing his crow to make a sound and flip its wings "You have schemed, looking for chances but I gave none, in turn I have been scheming as well, patiently waiting and teaching my clones to never trust you, patiently waiting for a moment in which I could strip you from your position as a Noxian hero and finally you fell for it, all those years waiting for you to achieve what you though will be your greatest success, resurrecting Crownguard, what a fiasco it was I imagine" Katarina eyes widened, she knew Swain was aware of her hate, but not of her plans "It is unfortunate that, your attempt was faulty, without the proper training you what you will achieve is an imperfect copy of him, in fact the sudden surge of memories may confuse him enough that he may even suicide out of confusion, weaklings, so far from perfection, is too unfortunate that you who had been always so close to said perfection decided on this path, after all we owe your father the birth of all this, it is too bad his memory will die with your family"

He had her in check mate, all the way Swain had always had her where he wanted with no chance to do anything, the master tactician calculated everything to the slightest detail she never had a chance, Katarina never stood a chance to beat him, he was always ahead…

In a burst of fury her fist crashed with the floor as she raised screaming in anger and hit the screen, smashing the crystal while standing the electrical discharge, her fist, bloody and burned remained on the broken screen that show Swain covered face "Worthless" was his only words for Katarina as the screen changed to the agonizing Cass, the sisters exchanged looks and knew everything was over, in silent she asked for Cass forgiveness, but Cass eyes only showed hate for her, a torture sharper than 100 blades pierced her soul and then the image vanished and Katarina was left alone once more.

Days passed, she lost any sense of time, barely eating, barely drinking any water, images of her sister torture filled her mind, torturing her as well, feeling Cass pain, where was Talon? She didn't want to know, if he was not here, not with Cass, then probably his fate was even worse than hers. Laying on the solid metal ground she wondered if this all worth the effort in the end, images of the past appeared dacing in front of her eyes, mere delusions of her mind in an hour of despair, she even saw a ghost of him, Garen as gallant as always, offering her a hand to raise a hand she tried to take but vanished the moment Katarina kneeled trying to reach the hand, trying to touch it, her eyes filled with tears and what started as a soft, almost silent sob rapidly grew into loud crying as desperation creep her body, her will finally giving in, minutes passed until the wepping became sobbing again, her long red hair falling at her sides, covering her face and tears, until she finally passed out and crashed in the floor, just as if she was dead.

Metallic sounds brought her back to the harsh reality, the light of the door opening woke her up, her weakened state didn't allow her to do anything, she was barely aware of what was happening, her hands were tied by solid metal bracelets, all she knew besides this was that somebody carried her away through the hallways in an utmost cruel manner, leaving her to fall and brutally striking her to raise, it was obvious this was not a rescue. The hallways seemed eternal as she walked them always whipped by the jailers behind, had the situation been other those two would be already dead. Finally she could feel air blowing on her face and the loud sound of the crowd filling her ears, making her snap out of the trance like state, realizing where she was, a strange calm filled her, the time of her true death was near, here in the Arena.

The crowd now became silent watching the former Noxian hero in chains, the jailers pushed her towards the center of the arena, tying her bracelets with force lines to the ground, restraining her movement, Katarina knew this place well, more than an Arena, this was Draven's execution grounds, dirt, broken pieces of metal, dry blood even a few corpses, everything was set to make anyone on the wrong side of the blade that this was their end, there was no fighting chance just a bloody and unfair murder and of course, there is no execution grounds without the executioner and so Draven made his appearance cocky as usual, raising his arms to provoke the crowd pulling out his spinning axe and pointing to Katarina, then passing it near his neck, motioning the usual beheading move, this obviously excited the crowd who called for the death of the traitor, Swain plan had come to fruition at last, and of course he would be there to watch, sitting on his throne, silent, watching flanked by Empress LeBlanc and Darius, Katarina could only wonder where was Cass, maybe she just sold her already, maybe she was death, both options will let her at ease, in both cases Cass won't be suffering anymore.

"Kill her!" a voice called on the crowd and suddenly it became a loud roar as everybody repeated the same "Give her a weapon and let her suicide!" another said, at this point Katarina could even consider that, it will be better than dying at Draven's disgusting methods "Oh no dear audience no! is still too early for that there is still so much fun on the agenda!" Draven walked towards her, carrying a metallic box in one hand and one of his spinning axes on the other "We still have parting presents for her!" the man said pressing a button on the box with his thumb and shocking it, throwing it contents to her…

Katarina screamed in terror once she could discern the contents, his hands reached for it, now tears flowed again on her eyes, before her it was the maimed head of Talon, she hugged the eyeless head tightly, his mouth sealed by steel treads as well as his eyes, tongue and eyes missing, such horror made her tremble out of anger and pain "I'm sorry… so sorry" she held him fiercely, sobbing "I should have listened, I should have…".

"But that's not all!" Draven laughed as he mocked her pain pointing to the door behind him, the door opened and a strange contraption was pulled out by Urgoth himself, very similar to the old "Horse rack" torture device but it had a cover like the iron maiden, Urgoth stopped not far from Katarina and turned to activate the device, the rack was then raised to an almost vertical position, the iron maiden like cover opened revealing another terrifying sight for Katarina…

"Cass!" she yelled releasing Talon's head upon gazing to her dying sister, bloodied and scarred, the needles from the iron maiden were filled with blood, Cass was almost dead, but she could still open her eyes, they didn't reflect anger anymore, just the shade of dead "Oh so cute!" Draven mocked "The sisters reunited, I feel so cozy I want to do something for them, lets give them a show of my infamous aiming!" Katarina froze, Draven was going to play his games on Cass "Don't!" she yelled "Isn't this enough?! Just kills us already!" she demanded her voice was weak but still she gathered enough strength to yell "Of course, of course you will die, that is why everybody come here isn't? to see this traitor die!" Draven throws one of his axes to Cass hitting her shoulder, separating her arm from the body causing yet another scream of pain "Whoops! Seems my aim is not calibrated today!" a few of the most bloodthirsty patrons laughed but some started to believe this was too much "Let's try again shall we?" the executioner said spinning his axe and throwing it, this time hitting Cass tail "Pinned snake!" he laughed as Cass screamed "What a shame I ran out of axes, Urgoth, be a good whatever you are and bring me the axes" with bloody delight Urgoth complied, removing the axes and making sure Cass got even more pain, walking away to deliver the weapons to Draven, standing now beside Katarina Urgoth remained still waiting for the next action of the young man who held his former tittle "And now…what so funny?" he inquired after hearing Cassiopeia start laughing "You…aren't… that's for sure" she said, the bleeding weakening her every second "Go… ahead, cut me… humiliate me, do… what you want… doesn't matter you can´t… hurt me… anymore" a slight smile draws on her face, even Katarina was surprised of her sister bravery "You… are just a dog… a nobody… none… of this... you do… will matter because… bad things are forgotten…" the public was silent now, the bravery of the serpent lady stirred something in them, the way she was facing the humiliation and death impressed them all "Strong words from a scaly lady, ha!" Draven tried to mock her and provoke laughter on the public but it didn't work, they didn't laugh, which angered him she stole what was more precious to Draven, the attention of the crowd "What's wrong… little jester?... nobody likes your show… anymore?"

"Shut up!" Draven said, throwing another axe, hitting her midsection, Cass felt the hit, but the numbness of her body eased the pain "Let her live she is not the traitor!" a voice in the crowd called and the word "live!" echoed among them and it became a roar just as the death of Katarina was called before, Draven was furious, the crowd was now against him he started spinning his axe and the crowd yelled their reject for his action, angering him more "You stole my audience, you scaly bitch!" he said before throwing the axe, time seemed to stop as Katarina watched the axe fly towards her sister, she tried to say her name but no words came out, Cass looked at her, drawing a smile before the axe hit, saying a silent goodbye, then her face looked at the sky "Daddy…I'm going home" and with the strike her head rolled and her pain ended.

Katarina screamed as the arena fell silent, her pain and anger could be sense on the sonic waves of her screams and more than one patron turned its back in disapproval, other simply couldn't stand it and started to left the Arena, no longer caring for her fate.

Draven looked at the empty seats of the Arena, very few remained, his expression showed his disbelief and deception "Where are you going?!" he yelled "I haven't finished my show!" he looked everywhere, seen more and more people leave "Finish this already!" Darius yelled, bothered by his brother attitude, attitude that will cost him his life. Taking advantage of Draven carelessness Katarina moved, with the little room she had to act she turned to Urgoth and grabbed his arm, holding the blade etched to it, with a powerful kick he send the beast back tearing his blade from the rotten flesh and then she turned to Draven…

The blade soared the air as Draven turned to her direction, the man couldn't even react the rusted blade cleanly pierced his face right in between the fumanchus, erasing his despicable face from the face of the universe, this was Katarina's last act of defiance her way to not go quietly into the shadows of the night.

Darius jumped down quickly from Swain's balcony rushing to his brother, kneeling beside him he confirmed his death, gazing upon the disfigured face he let the corpse down and made his way to Katarina, from the back Urgoth grabbed her, hitting her legs and forcing her to kneel "Stupidly brave" Darius said, a calm fury could be sense on his voice, Urgoth pulled her hair back, forcing her to look at the sky and expose her neck as Darius raised his axe

"Garen…I…" and then a bright light blinded her.

* * *

**Out of the Darkness and into the light**

"So, how do we get in?" Lux inquired as his brother watched the starmap "There is no way for a single ship, it doesn't matter if it is the Measured Thread" Roche added, Garen knew he was right, but he had to try, a charge?, no, they wouldn't even reach the planet, sneakily send dropships? Not high chances of success, their sensors will pick them up "There had to be a way…"

He put a hand on his chin while thinking, trying to find a way "What if…" he said as he pulled out a 3D map of Noxus on the starmap "We warp right inside the planet?" Roche turned to him in disbelief "But… the gravity may pull us into the planet, if we miss the calculation we will end in the planet crust and…"

"It can be done!" Lux said cheerfully "I can make the calculations and stop right below the shield, but that will just give us a few minutes of surprise before they detect us, where in the planet you want us to appear?" Garen looked at the map for a moment, obviously she was in the capital but where, how he will reach her? 1 problem solved and a new one appears, seemed luck wasn't on his side.

"General, we intercepted the Noxian communications network" Garen attention was called by one of his communications officer "This may interest you" Garen approached and watched the communications traffic, the prisons were on high alert as a prisoner was transferred to the Arena, the name told him everything he needed "Lux, you will get us here" he said pointing on the Arena location "And do it fast! Roche once we are out I will drop with the Vanguard, give us cover with all the weapons in the ship" as he gave orders he ran down to the hangar, the whole Vanguard was scrambled and in minutes they were ready to go in the hangar bay, armed to the teeth in their mighty power battle armors.

"ETA 5 minutes, hope you know what you are doing brother!" Lux said over the intercom Garen chuckled at her comment "I though you are the one doing the calculations?" Lux chuckled as well "I'm not talking about that!" Garen dismissed her words and turned towards the Vanguard

"Today is the last time I will call you soldiers!" he started, sword before him pointing down "Today, you have shown you are more than that to me, today you have given me the gift of your loyalty, a gift I won't waste, a gift I will treasure" Garen eyes fixed on them, he felt touched by such steadfast comradeship and loyalty, no other unit was better than them, no other unit held such fierce appreciation and fealty to their commander "Today, brothers and sister, you have shown the universe what it means to be a true friend and ally, thank you to all, I'm in your debt for an eternity!"

Every soldier nodded and smiled, they lived to serve this man, to do battle alongside him and every member of the Vanguard for them this was life, for them this was the way they wanted to live, for them this was their wish and if they end doing what they wanted, they could not find a better way to find their end.

"Hitting the warp drive here we go!" Lux said on the intercom as the ship vanished in a blue light…

Mere seconds later, on top of the Arena a blinding light flashed and the Measured Tread appeared in all its glory on the skies of Noxus taking the Noxian army by surprise with the bold maneuver, fire filled the sky due to the abrupt entrance in the atmosphere time and space distorted, sending waves around the ship causing a shockwave destroying nearby buildings roofs, following this the ship opened fire with the rail cannons sending a bombardment of destruction towards the nearest Noxian military installations looking to stall the defenders even more.

The main hangar opened, Garen lead the descend "CHAAAARGEEEEEEEE!" was his shout as he jumped into the air followed by the Vanguard, in the ground, Katarina didn't believe what she saw, her tear stricken face managed to smile recognizing the ship in a matter of seconds the Vanguard landed in the Arena and the fight started, Urgoth seen that Darius was busy now shouting orders for the defense took the task of executing Katarina for himself, releasing her hair he prepared to crush her head with his still able mechanic hand, but he wasn't able to do anything else as a blade ran down his body slicing him in two from above, with the force of a titan Garen landed beside Katarina, in a quick motion his sword sliced the metallic restrains and he offered her his hand, Katarina was about to take it, when Garen was hit with the brute force of Darius tackle, taking him away, forcing him to the ground, Garen knee found home on Darius chest as he rolled on the ground to shake him off, both men raised weapons on the ready "The mighty Garen Crownguard, Demacia's finest, I've always wanted to put that to test" Darius said jumping in the air with his axe raised "You are welcome to try scum!" Garen said stepping forward, his blade down on the ready to slash upward from the side, once Darius got close enough Garen moved sideways and sliced Darius side as he came down, Darius felt the blood coming and turned to strike, his axe met Garen's blade their strength collided and both weapons felt the pressure of their masters, both warriors broke the hold and stepped back, but not for long as Darius continued his assault diving to get the head of his opponent, his axe howled as it travelled horizontally, Garen jumped forward rolling beside Darius as he finished his move and he counterattacked slicing the other side of Darius chest, causing the Noxian juggernaut to flinch. Darius didn't even finished his first attack when he launched a new one, this time from above, but Garen knew exactly what to do, jumping to the side he avoided the axe as it cracked the floor below "Stop moving coward!" Darius yelled furiously as he tried again to hit him in a whirlwind of hate with his axe, missing again, Garen keep his distance this time, he was well aware of the Noxian strength, even with his power armor it may get difficult to fight him in close quarters, been the seasoned warrior he was and with his old memories back, Garen keep the fight on his terms.

Darius swung his axe again, hitting nothing but air, Garen moved fast, too fast the years of training paid off quite well in moments like this, but Garen knew well this wasn't going to end soon if he didn't kill Darius, the fight raged on the Arena, the Vanguard keep the Raedsel at bay, Swain and LeBlanc already fled the area, but the order he left was clear, Kill them all. The noxian defenders started to increase in numbers and though the Vanguard proved a formidable opponent, sending most of them to their deaths, Garen knew they will be overwhelmed soon, it was time to act.

Another swing came this time, Garen parried it, hitting with his forearm the shaft of the axe "HA! Fool I got you know!" Darius said, capturing Garen with the gap between the shaft and the axe pulling him closer and receiving Garen with a headbutt "Fool you can't run from…me…" Darius now felt the sting on his chest, his eyes looked down to find Garen blade deeply thrust beyond his armor, his eyes returned to Garen face, now showing a victory smile despite the slight trail of blood running down his forehead, not a second passed when Garen returned the headbutt to Darius pushing him back and pulling his sword out with a mighty swing he disarmed Darius by cutting his arm and then turned to strike him down with a powerful strike from above, causing the release of the energy on his blade in a blue pillar, obliterating Darius body leaving nothing but a silhouette of ash in the ground.

Garen now turned to Katarina, she was silent watching her sister and Talon remains, he walked to her, slowly his hand reached for her shoulder and the response made him feel strange, but at the same time he liked it, as if it was something she used to do, her hand touched his and as her face turned to look at him, he discovered the tears on her eyes "Its you? Are you really back?" the smile and nod Garen gave her was the only proof she needed

The Arena was clear and dropships descended to pick up the soldiers of the Vanguard, wounded and death were carried aboard, along with the remains of Cassiopeia and Talon by Garen command, even though the Vanguard eyed warily the woman now walking with their General they didn't dare question his motives, once the dropships returned as fast as the ship arrived it left the planet, leaving a trail of destruction on its wake the Noxians won't easily forget.

* * *

**What the future holds**

The ship travelled fast out of Noxian space, but not going towards Demacia either, even though the troops were at ease, enjoying a well-earned rest, their future was a mystery to all even Lux and Roche didn't knew what was next, not even Katarina knew now what she should do.

The day passed, slowly, painfully slow the red-headed woman watched the space from one of the many observation decks, measuring the consequences of what was happened, thinking on her lost relatives, noticing she didn't have anything left, except for the man now coming through the door "That uniform, reminds of the one you used so many years ago"

Garen smiled as he approached "I guess they based it off somewhere" he stood in front of Katarina, the woman lowered her eyes, trying to avoid his "I wanted to apologize" she started "In my obsession to bring you back I never cared of the consequences, never cared of anything, just you and now… I lost everything" Garen walked away getting closer to the window showing the stars "You don't owe me an apology" he said, causing her emerald eyes to look at him "In fact I should thank you, now I have a purpose beyond mere service to Demacia, now I know the web of lies we have been fed on and I won't stand it" Katarina smiled, a sad laugh escaped her lips "Always the idealist, one of the things I loved of you I guess I should be going then it was…" she stopped seen his hand again been offered to her "nice to see you" she concluded speechless "I'm not sure about many things, but I am sure I want you by my side, I want to try and recover that piece of my life… of our lives as well, I realized is more than an implanted memory, this is who I am, who I have been and, through all this years all of what was me, have endured" he paused "All".

With the most beautiful smile Garen had even seen, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her closer, hearing her heartbeat and his own almost synchronizing, feeling her so close his lips looked for hers and they meet in a passionate kiss just like those they shared so many years ago in a world almost forgotten by everybody, except them, seconds passed but they seemed an eternity them both enjoyed, the world faded around them and for the first time in quite some time Katarina felt her soul at ease.

"I… have been waiting so long for that" she said after breaking the kiss, her eyes shining, making Garen believe there was nothing as beautiful as those eyes, except her "So… husband and wife?" he whispered to her ear "Yes… husband and wife" Garen smiled, something sparking on his mind "Then I have much catch up to do Miss Crownguard, its been 900 years apart…"

Katarina laughed hearthfully "When did you acquire sense of humor? I think I like that new part of you" Garen smiled giving her a quick kiss "The new me has improvements, what can I say? And besides we have plenty of time before we reach our destination" Katarina gave him a strange look, Garen simply smiled as the intercom sounded "General, the coördinates are set, but there are no starmaps of the area, we will be on the dark"

Katarina couldn't give credit to the words "Do not worry Roche, Lux has data that will give us a starmap, its old but it may come in handy" Turning to Katarina he continued "I figured you may want to bury your sister and Talon on their true home, besides we may find some answers in there as well"

With nothing more to say, Katarina arms surrounded Garen, in silence she thanked him, realizing not everything was lost, there was still Hope in what the future may hold.

* * *

_Note from the author: I want to thank all those people who took even a little time to see my history, this begin as simple challenge and became something bigger in the way, I never though I would make it to a final, I know this doesn't seem like a conclussion, but that's up to you guys to decide, I will like to hear about the readers and know if they will like a second part, I will writte a epilogue if I can come up with something good, because I like to end my histories with epilogues, specially if I'm going to make a second part, so here is it, a small journey but I do hope you have enjoyed reading it as I did writting it, again thank you all and I'll be waiting for your most appreciatted feedback!_

_PS. sorry for the delay, but lets say God decided to send me a little angel before time =P_


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